Princess Seq to Punk
by SharonH
Summary: Dom lost the mother of his child and woman he loved beyond everything...Regan needed a break from her life and ended up next door. She seems like an open book, but things aren't always what they seem.
1. Chapter 1

Regan stared at the crowd disdainfully. "Why does it seem like the same people are here every time we show up?" She spoke loudly so her companion could hear her.

"Because they are Regan!" Cara giggled.

Regan sighed. She didn't even know why she'd come out tonight. Really, all she'd wanted to do was curl up in her plush bed with a good book. Instead she'd let Cara, her cousin, talk her into coming to the club because 'simply everyone would be there'. Well, she'd been right. The club was large but it was packed. Harry's, the club they were currently taking up space in, was quite the popular night spot.

The two girls made their way to the chrome and glass bar, and ordered two cosmopolitans from Devon, the bartender. The two girls had already drunk a bottle of champagne on the ride over, but Regan savored the taste of the cosmo as it touched her tongue. Looking around she decided that the group was indeed the same people she saw on almost a nightly basis. When was the last time she'd had fun coming out for a night on the town. She almost laughed because she honestly couldn't remember. Oh, she definitely remembered when she was out every night, but lately she'd dropped down to only going out two or three times a week. Her friends were complaining, her cousin was complaining, and until the last few days her boyfriend Zack had been complaining. That thought made her frown. He'd been acting strange lately.

They'd been dating for the past four months, quite the lengthy relationship compared to previous boyfriends. Hell, even the tabloids were speculating on the couple being together for this long. Zack was the son of Nick Kind, only one of the richest and most famous rock stars of the seventies. Regan didn't think you could listen to a classic rock station or current rock station for that matter without hearing something from or about Nick Kind.

Zack was a good looking guy, but only a faded image of his father. His wavy blonde hair was not as vibrant, nor his blue eyes as icy. Still, he was attractive, and for the first few months they'd been almost inseparable. Regan had been quite amused to see the article in The Speculator about a secret engagement. As if. No, she had no intention of marrying Zack. To be perfectly honest she didn't even think they'd be dating much longer. He'd been fun, but he was more interested in partying and playing than in what she was doing.

"Hey, isn't Zack supposed to be here tonight?" Cara yelled over the throbbing music.

Regan shrugged. "I think so." She hoped not. "I'm going to the ladies room." Cara nodded and followed behind her. The sounds of music were muted as the two girls made their way into the spacious room and the door swung closed behind them. Another noise was highly noticeable however. The grunting and groaning was obvious. Regan threw a grin over her shoulder at Cara and moved into the bathroom. It wasn't uncommon for people to come into the bathrooms to make out or have sex. It certainly wasn't going to stop her from using the restroom.

The end stall was obviously in use by the amorous couple, and they saw the two pairs of shoes under the stall; pants down around masculine ankles. Something caught Regan's attention and her eyes narrowed. Cara's eyes widened. Regan walked quickly to the stall in time to hear a man's voice, "OH god you're fucking awesome!" This stall's door swung outward, so she gave it a little pull and it opened. She wasn't surprised to find the sight inside didn't upset her as much as it probably should.

"Well, hello Zack, and Keisha, how nice to see you two." she said in a smooth, polite voice. The girl in question shrieked as the man dropped her. The girl's legs had been wrapped around his waist as his naked buttocks pumped back and forth. Zack fumbled with his pants and cursed under his breath. "Oh, please, don't stop on my account. I just came in to powder my nose." She turned away from the two and headed for the mirrors. Regan was checking her flawless make-up as Zack stumbled out of the stall.

"Regan…sweetie….I can explain this." he started. brbr"Oh, don't bother Zack, it's all good. All of your friends have been there, so of course you had to go there too." she said sweetly.

"You bitch!" the platinum blonde screeched.

"Oh honey, no name calling. We all know it's true now, don't we?"

"I made a mistake Regan. Please don't hold that against me." he tried. She quirked an auburn eyebrow at him. "I'm a man honey…"

"The term man is a bit generous, don't you think?"

"Maybe if you weren't a frigid bitch he wouldn't have looked for me." Keisha snapped.

Regan turned to look at the two. Cara still stood in shock at the scene in front of her. "Keisha, just because I don't fuck everything that could possibly be considered male, doesn't mean I'm frigid. It means I'm selective sweetie, just selective. As for looking for you, honestly, do you think that he wouldn't have accepted any offer he received?" Regan snapped her small silver compact shut, and rewarded them with a sweet smile. "This actually works out perfectly all around. I hope you both have a pleasant evening." With that said she turned and headed out the door calmly. Cara trotted after her. Without speaking they headed directly to the door and out into the night.

**Two weeks later…**

Regan stared at the man sitting across from her. He was attractive. Well, attractive in that 'aristocratic-I-know-I'm-better-than-you' kind of way. Which in the end made him unattractive. He was also extremely tan, and it seemed he must spend hours in the sun, or tanning booth...maybe both.

It had been two weeks since she'd caught Zack and Keisha in the restroom, and now she was wondering how she'd let herself be talked into this. She glanced discreetly at her watch…again, and noticed she'd been on this blind date for thirty-six minutes. Every second that went by added to what she was slowly realizing was torture. For the past ten minutes of the impossibly long half hour, Richard Canton, the snob, had been expounding on the disadvantages of vacationing in Aspen to vacationing in the Mediterranean.

"Do you have somewhere else you need to be?" he inquired politely. Regan heard the edge in his voice, and supposed she hadn't been as discreet with her clock watching as she'd thought.

She gave him a half smile, hoping to ease the tension, and made up a plausible excuse. "Terribly sorry. I think my watch needs a new battery. I was just trying to determine if it's working properly." This seemed to appease him, and obviously seemed perfectly legitimate because he smiled and leaned back.

He seemed pleased with what he saw. Her wild, auburn hair was smoothed back into a chignon at the base of her neck, and she wore an elegant navy blue dress, the navy color matching her eyes almost exactly, which normally hugged her body. Tonight it was looser than normal, as she'd been losing weight for the past few weeks. The tabloids were having a field day with it. So far, according to them, she was anorexic, bulimic, terminally ill, or suffering heartbreak from her breakup with Zack. Never mind the fact that she'd been losing weight before the breakup. She almost sighed; at least she knew it wasn't any of those things. Regan was just tired. Extremely, and excruciatingly tired. What she needed was a break, not a blind date, the thought struck as Canton went back to the previous topic. She almost jerked upright in her seat. A break was exactly what she needed. Get away, out of the public eye, just be a normal person whatever that meant.

"Richard, I do hope you'll forgive any rudeness on my part, but I have to go now." She said abruptly, and stood.

This startled the man, and his mouth gaped open. "Now?"

"Yes, precisely." She nodded, and began to walk away.

"Shall we reschedule?" he called after her.

She turned and looked at him quickly, "I really don't see any point. The only thing we possibly have in common are some of the people we know, and we both have money." Regan just smiled ruefully. "We're completely boring."

It didn't take long to put her plans into action. Her parents weren't thrilled with her decision, but she was an adult and her own person, so she knew they wouldn't hold her back, and she was right. Her brother laughed at her, and Cara was flabbergasted.

"What do you mean you're going away?" the girl asked. Regan was currently packing, and Cara was lounging on the bed that dominated Regan's bedroom. "Where are you going? St Barts? Milan? Paris?"

Regan smiled at her cousin, and almost snorted. "I'm just getting away for a while Car. No big deal. I'm not going on vacation. If I was, then you could come, you know that. I just need some time away from all the media, and constantly flashing cameras."

Regan looked at the little house, boxed in and surrounded by other equally little houses, and grinned. This was perfect. It was exactly what she'd been looking for. Who'd have thought she'd find it in Los Angeles. Who'd have thought she, Regan Annika Wells, could disappear in Los-frigging-Angeles. Ah, but she had. She'd cut her famous mane of light auburn locks into a short, tousled mess. She'd traded in the designer clothing for department store specials, and she was loving every minute of it.

Traveling across the country had been a huge adventure, and now she'd settled into this small neighborhood after renting the small home. Regan was almost giddy with excitement. Here, in this place, she'd get to be a normal human being. Just another person going to and fro every day.

She didn't waste time heading for the back of the house and to the overgrown flowerbeds. Her first real day of home renting normalcy. Turning the radio on she knelt and began to weed in earnest.

"Hi."

Regan's head whipped up and towards the voice. In the small yard next door her eyes met a pair of dark eyes peering at her from a small girl child's face. The toddler was smiling impishly and waving to Regan. "Well, hello there."

"Hi." the girl chuckled again. The childish rumble brought a smile to Regan's face immediately. She toddled over and crouched down on her chubby legs to look at Regan more closely. "Hi."

Regan sat up and studied the girl. She was beautiful; chocolate brown curls, chocolate brown eyes, and quite the mischievous smile. "Do your mommy and daddy know where you are?"

The little girl's nose wrinkled, "Da?"

Suddenly a man's frantic yell pierced the air, "Lily?" It would have been impossible not to hear the panic.

"Back here." Regan yelled.

Upon hearing the man's voice the little girl squealed in delight and bounced up and down.

That was when the biggest man Regan had ever seen came tearing around the side of the house. Her mouth went dry almost immediately. He was tall, well built and muscular. He had a dark olive complexion, and shaved his head. Currently he was clothed in a white wife beater, some low riding cargo pants, and brown climbing boots. When her gaze flew to his face she realized faintly that this was where the girl got her dark eyes. The man scooped the little girl up in his very large hands and breathed a sigh of relief. "Da." the little girl murmured happily.

"Lily, baby, you can't wander off like that. Scared Daddy." he murmured and rubbed his face against the little girl's cheek.

Regan stood up awkwardly and shifted from foot to foot. Her nervousness brought his attention to her. "Um, hi, I'm your new neighbor, Anne. Annie." She almost stumbled on the name and hoped he didn't notice.

"Dominic Toretto." he told her in his growling voice. Distrust was obvious in his eyes.

"I was weeding." she said lamely. Regan shook her head slightly. She sounded like a moron. He was just a man after all. "I was weeding and she said Hi."

"Yeah, she's curious. Mrs. Carruthers, the old lady who used to live here used to sit out in the back and Lily liked to play with her." Dom said a little grudgingly. "Sorry if she was bothering you."

"Oh, no, she didn't bother me." Regan just nodded again. "Well, I, um, was just getting a start on the whole mess. She's beautiful. Lily, I mean, I should go, I didn't realize how hot it's getting outside." And she was feeling extremely hot. The temperature had increased ever since Dominic Toretto had moved into her line of sight. He was bad news with a capital B. Regan was taking time off from any complications, and this man oozed complication.

"Hi!" Lily reached out and touched Regan's short curls. "Pitty."

Regan smiled a bit softly. "No." she reached out and fingered one of the baby's locks. "You're pretty. Well, it was nice meeting you Mr. Toretto. Have a good day." Regan hurried back into her house as if the hounds of hell were at her feet.

Dom watched theredhead leave and felt odd. He almost felt like he'd been hit in the solar plexus. It was hard to catch his breath almost. He attributed this to realizing Lily had toddled off again. His beautiful girl was too curious for her own good. It wasn't as scary when the old woman had lived next door. He'd known Marta Carruthers for almost all of his life. Now though, he didn't know this Annie; didn't know if she was trustworthy. He certainly didn't know if he could trust her around his treasured daughter; the only thing he had left of his beloved Valeria. It just meant he'd have to keep an eye on the woman. Perhaps she was harmless…then again, maybe she wasn't.


	2. Chapter 2

Regan looked at the second hand washer through narrowed eyes

Regan looked at the second hand washer through narrowed eyes. Damn thing wasn't working. Well by damned it would work by the time she was through with it. She'd bought the manual and the tools hadn't she? She was an intelligent, capable woman. Hell, she was a frigging college graduate. With wrench in hand she approached the offending appliance in question.

Dom handed Lily to Mia and went back to flipping burgers on the grill. Everyone had come over for dinner, and it was turning into a beautiful night for it. Brian joined him and handed him a Corona. "How's it going man?" Dom asked his brother in law.

"Pretty good."

"You did good work on that Mitsubishi last week."

"It was a bitch and a half man." Brian laughed.

The two men were in the middle of a conversation when a loud thunking noise came from next door. It sounded like something heavy was hitting the wall violently, and Dom's eyes narrowed. He hadn't seen Annie for the past week though he knew she was there almost all of the time. All of the sudden a loud scream ripped through the air, and all of the men started racing over to the neighbor's house. The sight that met them stopped them all in their tracks.

Regan raced from the house covered in water and suds. Her sneakers sloshed around her feet and bubbles dripped down her bare legs. Soapy water was trailing out the back door as water and soap overflowed from the washer. Staring at the mess Regan started laughing. Well, guess that didn't work, she thought to herself. That was when she realized she had an audience.

Turning she saw Toretto staring at her in shock. It seemed he was having a party, and everyone was looking at her. That made her laugh even harder. "I…I…I was fixing the washing machine." she managed to choke out. Tears were now streaming down her face. If only The Speculator could see her now. This would be the front page for sure.

"Doll, I don't think it worked." a big burly man told her with a lopsided grin and a shake of his head.

Regan leaned over and braced her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "No." she snickered. "Not so much."

"Lee?" Sonja pushed her husband forward. "The water is still pouring out. Go turn it off for the poor girl."

Mia handed Lily to Cass and moved to Regan. "Are you okay? Are you in shock?"

Regan tried to compose herself. "Really, I'm okay. You're a sweetheart. No, I'm fine. I was just not expecting that at all." She shook her head and started swallowing the laughter. "It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Some big plastic thing came flying out of the machine and water started just spraying everywhere."

The brunette man the other woman had called Lee, and a tall blonde man were coming out of her small house. "Well, we got it turned off." the blonde said with a grimace. "That's quite the mess you're gonna have to clean up."

"Well….at least this'll make it easier to mop the floors." she snorted.

Dom couldn't help but smile. Most women would be thoroughly pissed off, but Annie was acting like it was the best thing that had ever happened. "You need help cleaning up?"

She turned to face him. Her dark blues eyes were twinkling. "Nope. I am going to clean every inch of it all by myself." The thought pleased Regan. Back home someone would have called one of the maids in to clean up the mess.

"Well, why don't you change and come over for dinner?" Mia offered. "If you won't let us help you clean, the least we can do as neighbors is feed you."

"Oh, I shouldn't…" her brow furrowed.

"Sure you can." Dom told her. This would give him an opportunity to see what he thought of his new neighbor.

"Well…"

"Oh come on." the brunette girl cajoled. "We all live in this area. Won't it be nice to get to know your neighbors?"

"Okay. Let me go get cleaned up and I'll be back over." she told them and headed back for her home.

The group was just sitting down to eat when she made her way over to them. Introductions were made quickly as they made room for their new guest. Lily squealed happily upon seeing her, and Regan saw another pretty child sitting between a short Hispanic girl and a tall brunette man. This baby girl was younger than Lily, but just as gorgeous. "And what's your name?" she asked the baby when the little girl cooed at her.

The Hispanic woman smiled at her. "Her name is Valeria."

"What a beautiful name." Regan sighed. There was a moment of silence at the table after she said this and for a second she wondered if she'd said something wrong.

"So, tell us about yourself Annie." Mia asked with a smile.

This seemed to make her a little nervous. "Not much to tell. I've sort of lived all over. I sort of decided I wanted to settle in one place for a while. I guess I got tired of all of the….everything."

"What do you do?" Sonja asked.

"Nothing right now. I guess I've sort of been drifting for a long time." Regan shrugged. "My father says it's just that I haven't found my calling yet."

"Are you close to your parents?"

She smiled. "Extremely. I love them dearly, and one older brother; Jacob. I'm also very close to my cousin Cara. They're all back East."

"Wow, and they're all supportive of you moving out here?" Cass speared another tomato.

"They had their reservations, and Jacob laughed at me. I'm sure they expect me to come home any day now." Regan knew that was the truth, but she had no intention of doing that. Lily was reaching for a banana so Regan picked it up and peeled it for the girl. She made sure the pieces weren't too big for the little girl and continued speaking. "Still, they love me, and I couldn't ask for any more than that."

Dom watched her actions with his daughter. Lily didn't take to new people all that well. For some reason his baby girl liked this woman, and if he was being honest he couldn't find fault with her so far. He wouldn't be asking her to fix anything of his any time soon, but she was good with Lily. The woman also inspired feelings in him that he tried to push aside. She was an attractive, curvaceous woman. He tried to tell himself it would be next to impossible not to notice, but he knew there was some type of chemistry between them. He also knew she'd felt it and had run in the other direction, just like he was trying to do.

The night was growing quiet out except for the laughter of his friends and family. Annie was currently holding Lily in one of the lawn chairs. She was pointing up to the stars and telling the little girl the different names of the constellations. Lily was fascinated.

"You're good with her." he told her as he took the seat next to her.

She looked at him a bit startled. "Sort of funny. I don't have a lot of experience with babies, or any children for that matter."

"Can't tell."

"Is your wife working?" she asked innocently.

He looked at her for a moment wondering if she had a hidden agenda. "Lily's mother, Valeria, died two years ago." he said softly. He saw the sadness and compassion enter her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." she told him quietly. "If I'd known…"

"Couldn't know without asking." he told her matter of fact and took a swig of beer.

She was silent for a moment. "The only person I've ever lost in my life that was close to me what my grandmother. My mother's mother. She lived with us and I told her everything. Still tell her everything really. I know it's not the same, but I know my heart was torn into pieces when she passed. I'm sorry for your and Lily's loss."

Dom looked at her. "Thank you. It was the most horrible thing I've ever had to go through. And the most unfair thing that could ever happen to Lily. Valeria was everything to me."

"Then you were fortunate to have that. To have her for the length of time you did."

"Agreed."

"Some people never do." she turned her attention back to the stars. Lily was beginning to nod off in her lap. "Some people go their whole lives playing the part of a puppet. Never being truly loved for who they are inside, but by their position or status instead." Visions of Zack played through her head along with several of the other men she'd dated who'd only been after her money or the prestige of dating the only daughter of Dean and Suzanna Wells. "I'd better head in. Thank you for dinner." she said politely and gently handed him his sleepy daughter.

Dom watched her go and thought of her words. Yeah, he'd been lucky to have Val. Lucky for every single moment. He missed her dearly even now and wished she could be there to see Lily. "Ah Val, I miss you baby." he murmured before taking his daughter inside to her bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Regan was considering taking another crack at the washing machine the next morning when her doorbell rang. There was something wrong with the wiring and the sound the bell made was hideous. Someone had pressed it for the second time by the time she got to the door. She opened the door quickly and slammed her free hand over the button to stop it from being repeated. She gave Mia, Brian, and Dom a harried smile. "Hi. Let's not press that again. There's obviously something messed up with it."

"You aren't going to try to fix that yourself are you?" Dom frowned. She looked like she meant business. Her hair was pulled back in a red bandana, she wore a short red and white checked tank top that molded her athletic body, and short denim cutoffs. He noticed her toe nails were painted lime green.

"Are you kidding? I'd electrocute myself!" she snorted. That's when she noticed the tool box Brian was carrying. "What're you kids doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you all again or anything."

Mia was smiling brightly. She held a package wrapped in aluminum foil. "I brought you brownies. And the guys thought they'd take a look at your washing machine for you, if you wanted."

Regan gave a speculative look to the wrench she still held, and then gave them a relieved smile. "That would be awesome." She ushered them into the house and they stepped inside, looking around curiously. "I haven't really done much to the place yet." She told them as she led them towards the kitchen and the little room that held the washer and dryer.

The only furniture in the small living room of the house was a plush red sofa, a small stereo, and a small glass top coffee table. Two doors off the living room were shut and Dom figured they must be the bedrooms and/or closets. One door was open and led to a bathroom, but the room was dark. The small kitchen had a two person table and two chairs in the small breakfast nook. All of the water and soap from the previous day had been cleaned. The only thing which looked out of place was a blackened muffin pan filled with charred remains sitting in the sink.

Dom quirked one eyebrow at her and Regan flushed. "Um, I was trying to make muffins."

"What kind?" he asked curiously.

"Blueberry." She murmured. "I'm not really much of a cook. I might take a class or something."

"Oh, don't take a class! I could teach you!" Mia jumped. "I love to cook and so far no one's complained."

"Oh, that's real sweet Mia, but I'd hate to take your free time up like that." Regan protested.

"It would be so much fun!" the other girl enthused. "Our Mom taught both me and Dom to cook. As for time, I'm out of school for the semester, and it wouldn't take that long." Dom and Brian moved past the two women and into the laundry room. A moment later Dom came back out and took the wrench from Regan.

"Well, if you're sure you wouldn't mind teaching me…"

"This'll be so much fun."

Regan was frowning slightly. "Well, I don't know about that. I can't even boil water."

Mia blinked. "Of course you can." She looked at the redhead in front of her. Annie was a beautiful girl. Well, maybe beautiful was the wrong word. She was striking; beautiful pale, creamy skin with just a smattering of freckles across her face. Her eyes were a dark navy blue, and her hair was just a touch darker than strawberry blonde. Judging from Annie's eyebrows and coloring, it was her natural hair color. Annie had a pretty face with a perky, button nose, and a Cupid 's bow mouth; her upper lip was just a shade fuller than would be perfect giving her a very slight overbite. Annie obviously worked out or exercised regularly because her body was toned, but she looked like she'd been losing weight recently, and not in a good way.

Mia was intrigued by the other woman. She seemed to be an enigma, or a puzzle. Everyone had liked her the night before, and Lily seemed smitten with the woman too. There was also something familiar about Annie. Almost like Mia must have seen her before. But hadn't Annie said she'd come from back East? Mia shrugged to herself. Must just look like someone.

Regan was busy getting out small plates to put the brownies on. Occasionally, an expletive could be heard from one of the men. "Do you guys want a brownie?" she called out then turned to Mia. "Would you like some milk, or some soda?"

"Why don't I get drinks while you get the brownies out?" Mia offered. At Annie's nod she headed to the cupboards. Upon opening the refrigerator she was stunned to see the beverages. Not only was there two types of milk; skim and 2, but there was sparkling water, bottled water, some expensive brand of bottled water, several energy drinks, Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, and an almost full bottle of Grey Goose vodka. There weren't a lot of food items that Mia could see. Slowly she removed the 2 milk and some of the water. "Is this okay?" she asked hesitantly.

Regan looked over and nodded. "Sure. You guys can have whatever you want." Not getting a response from the men she sighed and stuck her head in the small utility room to see if the men wanted a brownie, or something to drink. "Did you…" Her mouth went dry and she lost her train of thought entirely.

Brian was leaning into the basin of the washer, but Dom was lying on his back. Water had obviously leaked out of the machine because his white wife beater was wet. He had the wrench in one hand and his arm muscles were bulging as he tightened something. He had worn faded blue jeans that day and they emphasized his thigh muscles. For a moment Regan thought she was going to faint as a flash of heat enveloped her. She blinked and tried to remember what she was saying before she'd seen him. "Did you guys want a brownie or a drink?" she managed to croak out.

She barely heard Brian's affirmative. Dom had looked up at her and when his eyes met hers she couldn't look away. Regan could hear a drum; no it was her heartbeat, beating ferociously in her chest. Regan couldn't remember ever being held captive by a gaze before. Never had she felt such raw desire. But that was what she felt for this man. She wanted him, and she wanted him bad.

Regan had never been one led by her hormones or desires. Keisha had called her a frigid bitch; she wasn't frigid, but she didn't just put out like other girls. In fact she'd never had sex. She'd never really met anyone who inspired those urges within her. Now she felt things in her body tightening and a flush crept up and over her flesh.

Mia spoke right next to her ear and it snapped her out of the stare. "These are really cute plates."

"Thanks." Regan moved out of the doorway and back into the small kitchen. "I got them at a flea market in Arizona." She moved quickly to pick up a brownie and shove a bite into her mouth. "This is really good." She told Mia after chewing thoroughly. She felt like an idiot.

The men headed into the room, and without thinking Regan handed them both hand towels to dry off with. Impeccable manners had been ingrained in her from birth. The group moved to the living room with their refreshments. "So, have you lived here all of your lives?" she asked after a brief silence.

"Dom and I grew up in the house next door." Mia smiled. "It's Dom's now. Brian and I got married two years ago, and now we live in the green house on the corner."

"Oh, that's so nice. That you live so close like that."

"We've tried to keep it that way. We're all family." Mia explained. "Before Valeria it was Team Toretto." Mia said softly. "Dom, Me, Letty, Leon, Vince, and Jesse. And Brian, he was one of ours too." Regan listened intently to her voice and could hear the traces of pain. "Then Val came and we gained Cass, Sonja, and Trev." Dom and Brian got up and headed back to the laundry room silently. "Sonja and Lee got married, Trev and Letty got married, and for awhile Cass and V were a couple." Mia shrugged.

"I don't think Jesse was there the other night. Unless he was the man with Cass, but I thought his name was Cam."

"Yeah, Cass's husband is Cam. No, Jesse died before. He was shot and killed by some very bad men."

"Oh, Mia, I'm so sorry. There's been such tragedy in your lives." Regan just shook her head in horror. "I don't even know what to say. I've never known anyone who's been a victim of violence. I mean, I guess I know people who've been mugged and stuff, but not shot."

"It was real hard on all of us, losing Jesse. There was a long period of upheaval for us. Maybe someday I'll tell you the whole story." Mia smiled faintly.

Regan looked at the other girl. She'd like to hear that story someday she thought to herself. "I'd like that Mia."

"It's fixed." Dom said from the doorway. "For now. You're gonna have to get a new one, or at least a newer one than that one, soon."

Regan gave Dom and Brian a huge smile. "My heroes."  
&

Regan pushed herself up and out of the office chair stretching her back as she went. She'd just finished sending off the last email to her brother, and now she was going to grab some lunch. It was just past noon and the neighborhood was quiet. Looking around the small room she'd set up as an office she smiled. She loved the little house she was renting. The office had just been big enough for her elliptical machine, computer desk, and bookshelf.

Regan headed for the kitchen and grabbed an apple. Should probably eat something more, she thought to herself briefly and then pushed it away. At least she was eating more now than she had been. She wasn't nearly as exhausted these days either. It had been four days since her new neighbors visit. The washing machine was working, almost like a dream. Regan had kept a low profile for the past few days. The reactions she was having whenever she was in Dom Toretto's vicinity were confusing and unnerving. She hadn't done this, left home like this, to meet boys…men…whatever. No, as sexy as the man was, and as adorable as his daughter was, it was just best to keep her distance.

His daughter was a whole other issue. Regan didn't have a problem with kids, but what if she got attached to Lily and vice versa only to be leaving in a few months. What about the fact that Dom had been seriously in love with someone before? Regan had no experience with love. The relationships she'd been in had been easy flirtations. The most serious had been Zack, and look at how that ended. Not that she'd ever really considered a long term commitment with Zack. Good grief, why was she even thinking about this now? She'd only spoken to the man three times.

"Knock knock!" came the shout from the back door.

Regan grinned and headed to meet Mia. "Hey!"

"You sure you don't mind me coming in like this?"

"I don't mind at all!" In fact Regan had loved the idea of it; having people you know and trust that could just walk in and be welcome. "Oh, what did you bring with you?"

Mia smiled and set her two grocery bags on the counter. "We're going to start easy today. We're making spaghetti and meatballs."

Regan continued to dig through the bags. "Um, Mia, honey, there aren't any bottles of spaghetti sauce in here…"

Mia giggled. "Annie, we're making homemade spaghetti and meatballs. We aren't using Ragu or Prego, or any of those."

Regan backed away from the groceries and folded her arms across her chest. "Are we sure that is the wisest course of action? Perhaps we should start with something really simple like….carrot sticks?"

Mia looked over and saw the doubt on the other woman's face. She walked over and slung an arm around Annie's shoulders. The redhead felt almost fragile to her and that made Mia frown a bit. The girl needed to put some meat on her bones. "You can do this Annie. I know you can. Together we're gonna get you cooking up a storm."

Regan took a deep breath and pushed the fear of failure away. This is a new adventure she told herself, embrace it! She gave Mia a big smile. "Let's do it."

Hours later the kitchen looked like a cyclone had raced through it. Drops of red sauce marred every counter and cabinet in sight, and Regan was almost positive they'd ended up using every pot and pan she owned. The first batch had been a disaster, but the second batch looked, and smelled good. Regan was pooped. She'd never have guessed that cooking was so much work. "You're amazing." She told Mia. The brunette was still standing at the stove stirring.

Mia looked over at Annie and chuckled. "You should see yourself."

"I can't believe I cooked that." Regan mused. "I COOKED." At Mia's look she elaborated. "You don't understand Mia. No one, not one single person I know from back home would or could ever imagine me cooking or cleaning."

Mia listened. This was really the first time Annie had spoken of 'back home'.

"Know what else Mia? Not one of them would understand why I'm here, or why I'm loving it all." Regan got quiet for a moment then she snapped back to attention. "Who's going to eat all of this?"

"Everyone, of course. They should be here soon."

"Shit! I'd better go shower then!" Regan laughed.

They carried the huge pots out to the picnic tables and Mia's family began to show up in small groups. Lily made a beeline for Annie, and this didn't go unnoticed by Dom. It also didn't go unnoticed when Annie scooped the baby up and proceeded to blow raspberries on her sweet little tummy.

The group was in the middle of eating the dessert that Cass had brought when Annie's cell phone rang. They waved her on to answer so she did so quickly. "Hello?"

"Regan?"

"Cara?" Regan frowned. She'd just talked to her cousin the day before. It was unnatural that she'd call now. "What's happening?"

"I went out with Richard Canton tonight."

"Oh really?" Regan grinned now and leaned back in her chair. Everyone else seemed caught up in their own conversations. "How long did the date last? When I went out with him we lasted about thirty eight minutes. Then I had my epiphany."

"Oh, we were probably out for about two hours." Cara's voice sounded wispy.

Regan stopped smiling and sat up in the chair. "Cara? You okay?"

"He wouldn't bring me home." Now Regan could hear the tears in her cousin's voice.

"What do you mean?" she asked softly.

"I told him I wanted to go home. He got really drunk and he wouldn't bring me home. I tried to leave and he grabbed my arm and pushed me in the car." Cara was sniffling now. "Then he got into an accident."

"Are you okay? Do you need me to come home?"

"No, but it means a lot that you would offer…no, I was hoping you'd let me come stay with you for a while." Cara asked. "If it wouldn't be too much of an imposition."

"Of course you're not an imposition!" Regan reached down and scooped Lily up. The little girl had toddled up and grabbed at Regan's shorts in a bid for attention. "Just understand this isn't like home at all… be prepared. When can I expect you?" She hung up the phone shortly after that to find everyone's attention focused on her. "My cousin's coming for a visit."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it's taking so long for updates. Chemo is kicking my ass. **

Dom bent over the engine of the RX-7 and tightened the bolts. His mind wasn't in his work today. At this point he was seriously considering quitting for the day and going home to relieve the babysitter and spend time with Lily. She was with her new sitter, and he wondered how that was going. Plus he just missed her. The thought seemed more and more appealing as each minute went by. It didn't take long for him to wash up and put his plans into motion.

Regan was in the process of painting the guest bedroom when she heard screaming and crying from next door. Frowning, she recognized Lily's distinctive cry and wondered what could possibly be wrong with the little girl. Her frown deepening she headed outside the back door and over to Dom Toretto's back porch. Rage flashed through at the shocking sight before her. Lily sat on the porch sobbing hysterically. She was filthy, and a woman, a few years older than Regan, stood over her screeching angrily. The woman was holding a wooden spoon and looked like she was about to smack the toddler. "What the hell do you think you're doing!!!" Regan roared.

The woman spun around in shock and her mouth flew open in distress. "Who…" The woman was heavily made up, and clothed in something that Regan could only imagine one might find on a two-dollar porn star reject.

Regan felt the blood rushing through her body as it boiled. Fury took her over and she stalked forward. Lily saw her and raised her chubby little arms towards her, "Pitty Annan," the little girl sobbed. Regan scooped the little girl into her arms and cuddled her close. "How dare you! How dare you contemplate putting your hands on this child! You have just made the biggest mistake of your meager, incompetent life." Even through all of the paint splatters her breeding was visible in the way she held herself as she stared at the woman with pure contempt.

"What's going on?" Dom asked as he approached. He'd heard the commotion as soon as he'd gotten out of his car. Annie looked pissed, the sitter looked shocked, and Lily was clutching Annie for dear life and crying. "Annie? Gisella?"

"She frightened Liliana, Mr. Toretto." The babysitter, Gisella, stammered.

"Oh I don't think so!" Regan whispered furiously as she rocked back and forth to soothe Lily. The babysitter was moving towards Dom and pushing out her cleavage. Oh how obvious, Regan thought in disgust. "Perhaps you think that batting your eyelashes and jutting your breasts out like some x-rated harlot will sway Dominic you wretched hag, but I know what I saw!"

Regan was flushed a bright red, and even though he knew it was certainly not the place or time, that passionate anger and the way she cradled his daughter protectively aroused Dom…fully. "Annie, what happened?" he asked managing to keep his calm.

Regan tried to calm herself. She dropped a kiss onto the quieting Lily's head. "I was painting and heard yelling and crying. I recognized Lily's cry."

At her name, Lily looked up. "Pitty Anan Da, Pitty Anan." She still clung to the redhead.

"Shhhhh," Regan soothed. "I came out to see what was happening to find Lily sitting on the porch, dirty as can be, and crying hysterically. This woman, and I use that term loosely, was screeching like a banshee, and brandishing that spoon. She was going to hit Lily." Regan finished through gritted teeth.

There was absolute silence as something well past fury engulfed Dom. He turned burning eyes on Gisella who shrank back from him immediately.

"She wandered off…" the woman began.

"Get the fuck off my property. Get off my property before I beat YOU with that fucking spoon." His voice was the coldest thing Regan had ever heard.

Obviously it was the same for Gisella. The woman shrieked in terror, ran inside, grabbed her purse, and raced out the front door.

Dom had to force his muscles to relax before turning to his daughter. Guilt washed over him. He'd hired the woman and God only knew what she'd done to his child. He moved over to Annie and Lily softly. Lily reached for him immediately. "Ba monna Da."

Dom held her close. Ba monna….bad monster. "It's okay baby. Bad monster all gone." He murmured. He looked to Annie. "Would you get the door?"

Regan did so immediately. She'd never been inside his house before. It was nice. Very masculine, but there were liberal baby toys scattered about. There were also tons of family photos everywhere. She followed him as he climbed the stairs and into the nursery. It was a bright and cheerful place and there were photos of Dom and his 'family' hanging on the walls. There were also pictures of a blonde woman. She was beautiful. Her hair was a pale blonde and her body was lean and tough. In one photo she leaned against a purple Charger.

"That's Valeria." Dom's voice was quiet.

Regan turned to see him cleaning Lily with baby wipes. "She was lovely."

"Yes she was."

"She liked cars?"

"Raced. Real good too." He'd moved on to the baby's diaper, and Regan moved closer to observe. She'd never come close to changing a diaper before. "She was also a mechanic, and worked at my shop. That's how we met."

Regan didn't meet his eyes. "She looks so confident." So different from herself, Regan mused. She put on a good show, but in the end she was so unsure of so many things.

"On most things she was. In the end she was confident in everything."

"I think I would envy that." She told him softly.

Dom set the sleepy Lily in her crib and they moved to the door. "Val had to be confident. She had a rough life until shortly after we got together. She had to fight for everything." They made it downstairs and to the front door. "Thank you Annie. Thank you for coming for Lily."

She turned and looked up at him. He was closer than she'd thought he'd be. "Anytime." She managed.

Dom moved slowly so as not to scare the skittish woman. As soon as their lips met he knew he'd messed up. This woman was sweet, innocent, and called to everything within his being. He found himself wanting to snatch her up and keep her. Never let her go. He pulled away and fought the strange urges.

Regan blinked up at him dazedly. She took a step away and then drew in a deep breath. She turned to leave, but at the last moment turned to look back. "Dom, what was the woman's name? Gisella? What was her name?"

"Gisella Martin. Why?" He asked, now thoroughly confused.

Something glittered in her navy eyes. "Because she made a terrible mistake today." She left him quickly. There were calls she had to make.

**

"Her name is Gisella Martin Uncle Theodore. My detective told me she's thirty two, lives in a condo in Santa Monica, and has no known source of income. I'm emailing you his report." Regan was already hitting the send button.

"How did this woman come to your attention again Cupcake?" the older man sounded a bit confused.

"She abused the toddler next door. That baby is sweet and that woman was horrid to her. I thought it odd that a babysitter would be wearing Louis Vuitton shoes. There was something really off about her, besides the trying to beat the baby thing. So, I called Cooper Agencies since Daddy uses them all the time. This woman is some kind of criminal, I know it. And Max Cooper thought it was suspicious too."

"Okay Cupcake, okay. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. We'll take it from here."

Regan gritted her teeth at the indulgent tone, but managed to keep her cool. "Thank you Uncle Theo."

"Anything for you Cupcake." He chuckled. "I understand Cara is going to be staying with you for a while?"

"Yes sir. She said she should be arriving by the end of this week. It'll be good to see her."

"Good. I have to tell you she's been spending some time with people of whom I don't approve. I know you'll do your best to keep her out of trouble."

"Well, I'll certainly try. I haven't been doing much that could get me in trouble, so hopefully that keeps working."

"I know you'll do good Cupcake… Did she by chance mention to you what happened with that ass Canton? She won't tell me or her mother."

Regan lied without remorse. "No, gosh Uncle Theo, she hasn't, but maybe she'll get here, relax, and feel like talking about it." If Cara had wanted her parents to know then she would have told them. Hearing a knock at the door Regan hurried from the computer room and made sure to shut the door. She opened the front door to admit Dom and Lily. "I have to go now Uncle Theo. I've got company. Love you bunches, Give my love and kisses to Aunt Kitty." Finally she hung up and gave them a brilliant smile.

Dom hated bothering Annie, but he was out of options. He only hoped she would, and could help. When she opened the door and ushered him in he had to take a deep breath. She was in the cut off denim shorts again, and a blue sports tank that stretched over her curves. There were freckles all along her shoulders, neck, and clavicle, and he wanted to taste each one. She was finishing her call, and then she was smiling at them and Lily was reaching for her.

Regan took the girl without question. "How are you both today?"

"Lily is wonderful; her Daddy is freaking out." He said bluntly.

Regan frowned with worry. "Oh no, what's wrong?"

"I have a huge favor to ask. If you can't do it I'll completely understand…"

Regan interrupted him. "Name it." She snuggled Lily closer.

"I don't have a sitter. I'm worried about them ever since the Martin woman. I have to go to the garage. I haven't gone in this past week, but I have to go in today. Mia's at a seminar, Letty took Vali to the doctor, Sonja is at her own doctor appointment, and Cass is working. I'd call one of the guys but they're all at the garage, well except for Cam and Trev, but they're out of town. I would just say fuck it, but this guy brings in a lot of business for us and I've already put it off since…"

Regan watched Dom babble on with some amusement. "Dom…Go to work. Of course I'll watch Lily. I'd never have any problem watching Lily. Heck, I'll watch her until you find another sitter, or whatever. She's not a problem. I'm not working and Mia's here half the time anyway. If she needs anything I don't have then I can just run next door. Stop putting off your business. I've got this."

"Oh thank you." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Dom leaned in and kissed Regan's startled mouth. Then he dropped a kiss on a delighted Lily. "I brought her diaper bag just in case, and my house is unlocked. Also, there's a car seat in the laundry room if you have to go anywhere. Oh, and I put a list of phone numbers in the diaper bag. Any number you might possibly need."

"Go to work Dom. We'll be fine." Regan laughed.

With a few backwards glances Dom was out the door and heading to his car. Regan and Lily watched him go. "Da?" the little girl questioned.

"Your Daddy went to work." Regan murmured looking at the expensive vehicle tear down the street. "I can't believe he gets a car seat in that monster." She looked down at Lily and smiled again. "Now we get to play."

It was eight o'clock that night by the time Dom got home from the garage. He'd called and gotten a hold of Mia who'd told him everything was fine and taken care of. He figured he'd have to thank Annie the next day when he dropped Lily off with her. A note on the fridge told him dinner was in the microwave, and he headed upstairs expecting to find Mia putting Lily to bed. Instead, as he drew near the door, he could hear Annie's soft voice telling his daughter a bedtime story. He stepped into the doorway and just stared. Annie sat in the rocker with Liliana sprawled out in her lap. She was just finishing one of Lily's favorites, Brown Bear Brown Bear. His daughter was the first to see him and she smiled sleepily. "Da." She murmured and held her arms out.

Regan stood and her smile was tired. She handed Lily to Dom and stepped out of the room. Dom finished tucking in and kissing his baby girl, and then he joined her in the hall. They moved downstairs in silence. "So, you'll drop her off tomorrow morning?" Regan murmured.

Dom nodded. "Thank you Annie."

"Seriously, don't mention it."

"Annie…" He began.

Regan moved closer. "What?"

"I haven't done this in so long." He smiled wryly. "I'd like to take you to dinner. Would you go to dinner with me?"

"Dom…"

"Look, I haven't been a hermit since Val died. It's all been about sex, but this is different. That's not what I'm trying to…hell, I don't know what I'm saying."

She'd planned on saying no. Everything in her kept screaming complication. Instead she said, "Yes, Dom, I'll go to dinner with you." This time she reached up on tiptoes and kissed his lips. "I'll see you both tomorrow morning."


	5. Chapter 5

Regan stared at herself in the mirror. It was Wednesday night and she was going out to dinner with Dominic Toretto. She shouldn't be. She should be staying home and getting ready for Cara to arrive on Friday. Instead, here she was. He'd told her casual, and she'd taken him at his word. Regan had chosen a light green baby doll top with spaghetti straps, khaki Capri's, and a pair of green sling-backs that matched the color of her top exactly. She'd pulled her hair back with combs on each side and she'd spent time making sure her make up looked good. Now she felt like throwing up. What was she doing?

The soft knock at her front door alerted her to Dom's presence and she answered it quickly. He wore tan Dockers and a black polo shirt. Regan felt her mouth go dry. "Hi," she said a bit hoarsely.

Dom smiled. She was beautiful. "Hi. You look lovely."

Regan blushed and looked down. "Thanks. You look very handsome yourself."

"Shall we go?" he asked and waited while she grabbed her purse. He led her to his car with his hand at the small of her back and opened the door for her. When he saw her grinning he had to ask, "What's so funny?"

"I never thought I'd ride in this monster," she told him.

"Monster?" he pretended to be insulted. "This is my baby!"

"Boys and their toys," she chuckled.

Dom started the engine and began to drive. "Guess you don't know a lot of gearheads?"

"No...most of the men back home aren't into cars," she told him looking at the scenery as they drove. "They're more into their stock portfolios."

"Ah," Dom murmured. "A lot of rich boys."

"Quite a few," Regan looked at him. "It's a whole different world back home. That's part of the reason I came here. I needed a change. I was making myself sick."

Dom nodded. "Guess I can understand needing a change."

"How is Lily this evening?" Regan asked changing the subject. It was getting far too close to reaching a point where explanations would be needed.

"She's good. She is playing with her Aunt Mia and Uncle Brian."

"She'll have a good time with that," Regan smiled. "Mia is one of the nicest people I've ever met. I honestly didn't know there were girls out there like her."

"I don't know," Dom started and glanced over at Annie with a smile. "I think you're a lot like that."

She laughed. "No, unfortunately I'm not. But that's okay, it gives me something to aspire to be."

Dom pulled up in front of a restaurant and parked. "I hope you like seafood."

"I love it."

He escorted her into the lovely, old restaurant and gave his name to the Hostess. Just looking around Regan could tell this was one of the better establishments. She was touched that he would bring her to such a nice place. "This is very nice."

He shrugged. "I just didn't want you to think I had no class."

Regan looked at Dom and now she could see he was just as nervous as she was. Without really thinking she took his hand into hers and squeezed. "I can honestly say you're one of the classiest people I know."

Dinner was a lighthearted affair and she found that even avoiding specific subjects she and Dom still had some common ground. She was amazed to find out that he and Letty had been an item for years before they'd finally broken up. He told her how when she'd come back she'd hooked up with his Valeria's brother and she could see how happily that had turned out. It struck her as amusing that she and her family were constantly in the papers as they tried to find ways to make Regan's life into a soap opera, but here were real people experiencing real things and no one ever knew.

After dinner Dom drove to the beach and they walked in the moonlight as they continued their conversation. She told him all about her cooking lessons with Mia, and he told her about his garage. Eventually it got late enough that they headed back to their homes. Dom walked her to her door and she turned to face him. Dom moved slowly and put one hand on the back of her neck. He pulled her closer and claimed her lips with his own. She kissed him back and it was slow and sweet. When he finally pulled away she looked up at him with shining eyes. Dom ran a knuckle down her soft cheek. "I feel like I've been waiting to do that forever," he murmured.

She smiled at him. "That long huh?"

"You'd better go inside before I start thinking about going in with you," he told her.

"Goodnight Dominic. Thank you for a fabulous evening."

"I'm glad you liked it. I had a really good time."

"Best date I've had in years," she promised. Then she slipped through the door and into her quiet home.

*****

Regan could barely control her excitement as she waited at the terminal for her cousin Cara to arrive. She'd seen Dom twice more that week, although they hadn't had another date, or shared any more kisses. Regan didn't have time to think of that though. Currently she was wondering if Cara had followed her instructions and done what Regan had asked. She hoped so. Cara had taken the late flight in, and it was already past ten o'clock. Dom had invited her to something called the races, but she'd had to turn him down. Sighing she tried to get her mind off of Dom…again. Suddenly she didn't have to worry about it as she heard a squeal and caught sight of her cousin coming towards her. The two girls hugged enthusiastically for several minutes before breaking apart to get a look at each other. Regan almost frowned but caught herself. It was apparent her cousin hadn't been sleeping well. She was still lovely, but there were dark circles under her normally bright brown eyes. Cara's normally salon-styled chestnut hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail, and while expensive, she wore simple jeans and a baby blue t-shirt. Cara's mother was half Cherokee, and her Native American heritage was apparent in her dark hair, dark eyes, and tanned complexion. She and Regan were about the same height, but Cara was curvier and slightly full-figured.

"You look amazing!" Cara told her cousin. "Simply amazing. You were so right! This was the best thing ever."

Regan grinned. "Definitely cheaper than a few months in Milan."

Cara giggled, and then sobered. "Thank you Regan. Thank you for letting me come stay with you. I know you wanted to get away from everything, but I appreciate you letting me come."

"Oh honey," Regan hugged her cousin again. "I wasn't trying to get away from you…I just needed to get away from that life." The two women began to walk towards baggage claim with their arms around each other. "And let me tell you something, it's been one of the best things I could have ever done."

"I can't imagine," Cara shook her head. "I just can't imagine you living out of the spotlight like this. I can't imagine not going out every night."

Regan shrugged. "Believe it. I love not being in the spotlight. I love not going clubbing. I spend most of my time with my neighbors, or working on my little house. I swear Cara, I've never been happier."

"Well, I did everything in my power to make sure I don't screw anything up. I traveled on the latest flight and changed clothes. I also had a layover in Minneapolis. Honestly though, I don't think anyone was really interested. Not with Charity Fate getting arrested." With that the two girls settled in to grab Cara's luggage and indulge in a good round of gossip.

*****

By the time the girls pulled into the driveway of Regan's house it was past midnight. They sat quietly staring at the small abode. Cara looked at it for a moment before speaking. "It's charming."

"Really?" Regan hadn't realized how much she wanted her cousin to like it.

"Promise. I can't wait to see the inside."

The two women stepped out of the car to the sound of music and laughter. Cara tilted her head and looked over at Regan. "That's my neighbors. They're cool. If you feel up to it we can go hang out after we get your stuff inside." Regan's heart flip-flopped as she thought of seeing Dom.

A rumble sounded and the yellow Skyline Regan had come to associate with Leon pulled into the drive of Dom's house. Vince climbed out of the driver's seat. "Hey Annie, how you doing?" he smiled as he grabbed a case of beer from the passenger seat.

"I'm good Vince. How are you?" She smiled back. "This is my cousin Cara. Cara, this is one of my next door neighbors; Vince."

Cara smiled at the good looking man. "Oh, are you the one with the little girl Reg…Annie's always talking about." Cara moved smoothly past the slip of the tongue and hoped the man didn't notice.

"No, Liliana is my roommate, Dom's, little girl. I'm just the honorary Uncle." He didn't even hide the fact he was checking her out. "You all coming to the party? Dom won tonight; I know he'd love to see ya." This was directed towards Regan.

"It depends on how Cara's feeling…" Regan began.

Dom huh? Cara mused. "We'll be over soon," she flirted and then turned to head into the house.

Regan laughed and followed her cousin inside. "Here for less than twenty four hours and already flirting."

"I can't believe you haven't had a piece of that," Cara teased.

"Vince is nice…but…"

Cara knew her cousin well. "Not Dom?"

Regan smiled a bit shyly this time. "Not Dom."


	6. Chapter 6

Dom and Brian were talking in the kitchen, where it was considerably quieter, when Mia made her way in and wrapped her arms around Brian's waist. "How are you tonight little girl?" Dom asked his sister. She hadn't come to the races, but had headed over as soon as Brian had called.

"Tired." She smiled sleepily at her big brother. "I've been napping."

Dom almost frowned, but caught himself. "You feeling all right? You look really tired."

Mia and Brian shared a look. "Well, see, that's why I wanted to come over after the races," Mia began.

"Mia and I wanted you to be the first to know." Brian grinned at the big man.

"You're going to be an uncle." Mia's eyes shined with unshed tears.

Dom swooped in on the two and spun Mia into a hug. "My baby sister's gonna be a mama? That's some of the best news I've heard." He clapped Brian on the back and then pulled the other man into a hug. "God I'm so happy for you two. I know it's what you've wanted for a long time."

"Knock knock," Regan spoke so as to be heard as she walked in the back door of the Toretto home. She frowned as she saw Mia's tears. "Sweetie! Are you okay?" She moved quickly to her new friend.

Mia laughed. "I'm great Annie. We were just giving Dom some news."

Regan sighed in relief. "Gosh, I was worried."

Dom, still grinning, put an arm around Annie, and pulled her into his side. This action didn't go unnoticed by Mia, Brian, or the brunette who'd walked in behind the redhead. "Mia and Brian just informed me they're making me an uncle," he shared.

"That's fabulous!" Regan shared a grin with him, and then turned her attention to the happy couple. "Congratulations you two! Oh! I almost forgot, duh, everyone, this is my cousin Cara." Regan turned and motioned Cara forward.

"Nice to meet you." Cara returned everyone's friendly smiles as she shook their hands. "Congratulations."

Brian was looking at her quizzically. "Do I know you?"

Cara looked very closely at him and blinked before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so," she told him with a smile. "I do get told I look familiar all the time though."

"Cara's got one of those faces." Regan laughed. Her cousin had just lied…Brian did know her. How was that possible?

"Why don't I introduce you and your cousin to all of our friends?" Dom's soft question broke into Regan's thoughts.

She smiled up at him. "That sounds good. I've heard so many stories, I feel like I already know most of them."

Regan watched as her cousin flirted heavily with several of the different guys from the racing scene. For the most part Dom's friends seemed nice. She wasn't worried about Cara though. Cara knew Regan was there if she needed her. Regan couldn't help but compare this group to the group she spent time with back home; she really couldn't call a majority of those people friends. Back east everyone would be talking about the arrest of Australian rock star Charity Fate. Here the singer hadn't been mentioned once. Regan and Cara knew the girl from different events they'd all attended, so her arrest hadn't surprised either of them; when not singing the girl spent most of her time looking for her next fix. It made Regan sad because Charity was extremely talented.

No, the main topic on hand at the Toretto home was racing, and cars. Neither of which Regan knew anything about. However, she did find it fascinating to listen to them all talk, because it was obvious that they all knew a lot. Finally, Regan snuck away and headed upstairs to Lily's room. She found Letty already in there playing with Lily. Valeria lay sleeping on a soft blanket on the floor. As soon as Lily saw Regan she squealed in delight causing Letty to chuckle.

Regan smiled shyly at Letty. So far Letty was one of the crew she really hadn't gotten to know. She liked the other woman, but Letty worked a lot at the garage. "Hi," she said shyly.

Letty smiled warmly. She liked this woman that Dom was so keen on. She'd grown to love Val, and it had hit all of them hard when she'd died, but Letty had been especially worried for Dom. For a long time it had seemed as if Dom didn't even look at women any more. Sure, she knew he still took them to bed on occasion, but it wasn't the same as being with someone. Letty knew the difference now that she had Trev. His interest in Annie had relieved all of them. It helped that she was so very obviously interested right back, and she loved Lily, and Lily loved Annie. "Miss Lily here woke up and doesn't want to go back to sleep. How you doin Annie?"

"Good. How about you?" Regan asked and took a seat on the floor to join the girls. Lily was rolling a ball, and was thrilled to add Annie to the game. "Oh, did you get to meet my cousin?"

Letty nodded. She'd met the other girl. She'd almost laughed. Half the boys downstairs were tripping all over themselves trying to impress the pretty brunette. They'd be chasing Annie just as hard if Dom hadn't been giving the 'she's mine' signals so clearly. "Seems like a nice girl. Are you glad she's here?"

"Definitely. I've missed her a lot," Regan answered honestly. It was nice having family with her. It made her a little less homesick.

"Well, here's where you got to," Cara said from the doorway, drawing Lily's attention. She moved into the room and sat next to Annie. "And what's your name?"

"This is Lily," Regan introduced. "Lily, this is Cara."

Lily looked from Regan to Cara and then back again very seriously. Then she scooted over to Regan and put a possessive hand on her leg. "My Anan," she told Cara somberly.

Letty hid a smirk, Regan was astonished, and Cara snickered and looked at Regan. "Well, she told me."

Lily proceeded to crawl into Regan's lap and lean into her looking at Cara from behind the shelter of the woman's arms. Regan frowned. "That's weird. She's never acted this way before."

"Actually," Letty explained with a smile. "She's never really taken to new people well…until you. I'm gonna take my sweetling, grab my mine and head home. I'm beat. Cara, nice to meet you. Annie, I'll see you soon I'm sure." Letty carefully lifted the still sleeping Valeria and left the room.

"There you are." Dom entered the room and felt the familiar quickening in his gut upon seeing Annie with Lily. "My girl being shy?"

"Apparently I am not allowed in the same vicinity as Annie," Cara joked.

"My Anan," Lily said crossly to the other woman again.

"Liliana," Dom scolded softly. "We share." He bent down and scooped her up. "Right now though it's time for little girls to be sleeping."

Regan and Cara moved from the room and Cara gave a huge yawn. "I think I'm going to head back over to your place. I'm so beyond ready for bed."

"I'll be there in just a minute. I just want to say good night to Dom," Regan murmured and ignored her cousin's smirk. She waited patiently until Dom came out and shut the door after him. Regan leaned back against the wall and looked at him. "Hey you."

Dom moved closer until there was hardly any space between them. "Hey to you," he murmured before moving in to kiss her. He kept his hands planted on the wall on either side of her head; it was difficult, but he did it. If he got his hands on her he knew he'd be too tempted to cart her off to his bedroom less than twenty feet away. She'd put her hands on his waist, and now they moved to his back and up and under his shirt. Dom deepened the kiss and thought he'd go mad. Finally he pulled away and rested his forehead against her shoulder as they both caught their breath. "You make me crazy." He whispered.

She laughed softly. "You make me feel things I've never felt…ever," she shared. Regan looked him in the eyes. "Dom, I've never…I've never had sex before. I want to with you, God do I, but the very idea also terrifies me."

Dom's heart almost stopped. "I don't know if you thought that would turn me off, but it didn't. I'm not going to push you Annie. We'll take our time. Wait until you're ready, and when you are it'll be good. It won't be scary. I promise." He kissed her quickly.

Regan gave him a tremulous smile. "I'd better go home."

"Yeah."

"See you soon?"

"Tomorrow," he told her without hesitation bringing a bright smile to her face.

"Tomorrow."

Regan walked into the house, and locked the door. Cara was sitting on the couch waiting for her. "I'm surprised. You really were only a few minutes."

"Why surprised?"

"I thought you and the big man might get busy."

"No, we haven't…"

Cara looked startled. "Really? It's so clear he's into you, and you're into him."

Regan blushed. "You know me."

Cara smiled. "Yes I do…you're my favorite person in the world."

"Likewise." Regan smiled back, then frowned. "Now. Tell me how you know Brian O'Connor…"

Cara grimaced. "Remember when I was sixteen and Mom brought me to L.A.?"

Regan nodded. "Yeah you got busted for buying marijuana."

"Yes, not one of my finer, or smarter moments."

"Well…?"

"Brian O'Connor was the arresting officer."

Regan's mouth flopped open and she sat down heavily on the couch. "Brian was the cop who busted you?"

"Oh yeah. I remember it clearly since I thought he was hot and kept flirting with him. He was real cool about it; not a jerk like most cops would have been."

"I knew Brian was a cop before, but I never expected that there would be a link..." Regan muttered.

"Sorry Regan." Cara started to frown. "If you want me to go I will. I know what this time away means and I don't want to screw it up for you."

"No. You aren't going anywhere. You can't screw anything up. True, I would rather keep my real identity secret, but that's only because I don't want them to treat me different than what they do now. Ya know? Right now I'm just Annie, the next door neighbor. If they knew I was Regan Annika Wells, well, you know what I mean."

"I do. But I'm not so sure about that. I don't know them yet, but they could surprise you Reggie." Cara stood and stretched. "Where am I sleeping?"

"You can sleep in my room with me or you can take the single in the spare room," Regan offered as she too stood and began to turn off the lights.

"Oh, I'll bunk with you. Then we can talk until we fall asleep," Cara said with a grin. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow my dear cousin we are going to the beach with my next door neighbor and his crew."

"Wait until you see my new bikini..."

The crew met at Dom's early on Saturday morning. They always liked to get an early start when going to the beach. That way they could get a good spot, set up, and spend the day. The ladies had packed enough food to feed an army, and since the men ate like a small army, it always worked out well. Brian was frowning slightly when Dom came across him in the kitchen. "What's up Bri?"

"You know Annie's cousin, Cara?" At Dom's nod he continued. "The only thing I can think of, how I know her, is that I must have run into her when I was a cop."

"You don't know that she's a criminal Brian." Mia sighed from where she was finishing packing a cooler.

"I'm not saying she's a criminal Babe, I'm just saying I think I arrested her," he protested.

She blinked at him. "Isn't that sort of the same thing?"

"Not necessarily Mia." Dom stood up for Brian. "I mean, she could have gotten into trouble once for something stupid, met Brian, and then never gotten into trouble again."

"He's just making it seem so ominous, and she's a nice girl. And Annie is so thrilled to have her visiting. She's been really homesick you know? I was hoping if Cara came for awhile that might mean Annie would stay longer."

Dom frowned. "What do you mean? Has she been talking about leaving?"

Mia shrugged. "Well not really, but she said at the beginning she had come here to get away from everything for awhile. That would lead me to believe it's not a permanent move. Plus she's renting, not buying, which says not permanent. I guess from the way she talks I've always assumed she'd only be around for a little while."

That gave Dom a lot to think about. Because he hadn't ever considered her leaving. He'd gotten used to her being next door. Now he wondered when she did plan on going. Was he being a fool getting involved with someone who would just leave in the end? As if by magic there was a knock on the back door and it opened to reveal Annie and Cara. "Knock knock," she said brightly with a smile for him.

He couldn't help but smile back. "Ready for some fun in the sun?" he asked both girls.

"Nothing like a Cali beach," Cara told the man who had nabbed her cousin's attention. She could definitely see why. The man was a looker, and the charisma he exuded was enough to bathe in. Still, he was a lot different than the other men Regan had dated in the past. He was more rugged, hard, more....well, more everything masculine really. "Of course we're going to have to hose Reggie down with sunblock every hour on the hour or she'll be crispy fried, but that's what she's got the good stuff for."

Mia was the one who caught the slip. "Reggie?"

Annie looked at her cousin silently, but Cara just smiled and shrugged. "Just a nickname. I've called Annie Reggie for years now. Sorry."

"No, it's cute. It suits her actually," Mia said looking at the redhead. "It sucks that you burn easy though. We'll make sure to keep you covered."

The trip to the beach was relaxing and Annie and Cara rode with Dom and Lily. Lily was still staring at Cara as if she had a second head, but Cara was working hard at winning the toddler over.

"I meant to tell you," Cara had leaned up to talk to Annie. "I heard from Nikki that Keisha's pregnant."

Annie's head whipped around. "Oh my God! No way! Is Zack the daddy?"

"God with Keisha who knows, but that's what she's telling everyone."

Annie started grinning. "Who're Keisha and Zack?" Dom asked with interest.

Annie turned her attention to him. "Zack is my ex boyfriend. Cara and I caught him having sex with Keisha in the bathroom of a club we went to. I broke up with him that night."

Dom's hand automatically reached over and rubbed her leg. "Are you okay? I mean if he is the dad?"

She looked surprised, then her face softened. How sweet, he was worried she'd be hurt. "I'm totally okay if he's the daddy. Breaking up with Zack would have happened whether or not I'd caught them in bed together. He's a twit. It would be hilarious if he's the father though. His dad will kill him."

"His old man doesn't want to be a grandfather?"

Annie thought about what to say...how could she respond? How could she tell Dom that Nick would kill Zack because of the horrible publicity this type of scandal would bring to Nick? "Something like that." Was what she finally decided on. "Oh look Cara, there it is!" Regan pointed.

They'd arrived at the beach, and it was the perfect day for it.


	7. Chapter 7

Dom and the other guys had moved off to play a game of football on the beach while the females did their own thing. Letty and Mia were off playing with Valeria in the shallows and Cara and Regan were busy making a sand castle with Liliana. As soon as Cara had taken Lily's different size stacking cups and started making short and tall towers she'd won over the little girl. Now Lily was helping to make haphazard towers and was babbling happily.

"So how has Nikki been?" Regan asked as she helped steady a pile of sand.

Cara rolled her eyes. "Nikki's doing great; it's that sister of hers. I swear that girl can't stay out of trouble to save her life."

"That's why I never wanted to hang out with her. I just don't need her brand of drama. Because that's all that ever surrounds her…drama with a capitol D." Regan made indentions in the sand for decoration and it caused Lily to clap merrily.

"Oh, trust me, I know. The only reason I saw her was because she was Nikki's birthday party. She was wearing the weirdest dress I've ever seen. Plus, it's hard not to know what's happening with her when she's in the magazines every week," Cara stopped, shocked when Lily moved around to make herself comfortable in the brunette's lap. "By the way, Stacy and Max chose a date for their wedding. I brought your invitation with me."

"When is it?"

"October Fourteenth. Stacy wanted it to be the exact date between their birthdays," Cara shrugged. "Sort of romantic I guess. You're going to go, right?"

"How are you ladies doing?"

Both women looked up to see Dom standing over them. "Good," Regan smiled at him.

"Where ya going?" he asked taking a seat in the sand next to her.

"Oh, Cara was telling me that two of my friends finally set a wedding date. They've been engaged for two years. Their wedding is set for mid-October, so she was just making sure I was going to go…and of course I'm going. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I'm going to go cool down in the water Reggie," Cara told her cousin and took off after settling Lily in the sand.

"How long will you be gone?" Dom asked bluntly.

Regan shrugged, starting to feel slightly nervous. "I don't know. I mean, I hadn't decided if I would still be here then. Technically I was just out here for a little while, a few months maybe. I've just had such a good time I haven't thought about going back."

Dom was quiet. "So…does that mean you're planning on going back soon?"

"No," she spoke softly. "Eventually, I'll have to go back…that's where my life is, but I wasn't planning on going back so soon."

"Good," He murmured and entwined his fingers with hers in the sand. "We'd better get some more sun block on you; you're turning pink."

"So, Cara, Have you been to California before?" Mia asked as the two girls lay tanning. There was a boom-box on the blanket and it was playing low in the background.

"Oh yeah, I love it here. If all my family wasn't back East I would live here," Cara answered as she rubbed suntan oil over her arms.

"Annie's never said where yall are from..."

"New York, My parents and her parents live in Manhattan."

"Wow. That seems like it would be a whole different world than here."

"Oh, it is, trust me," Cara laughed. "But it's slower paced here, at least most of the time."

"What do you do there?"

Cara hesitated. "Actually, I sort of consult. I'm involved in a lot of different projects. Right now I've really been working with the SPCA."

"That's cool. We like animals."

Dom, Regan, and Lily had joined them on the blanket, and Dom was setting about putting Lily down for a nap under the umbrella. Cara blinked as she heard something on the radio. "Oh my God. Turn that up would you?"

Regan frowned and turned it up. Her mouth dropped open as she heard Zack's voice crooning some song about missing his flame haired woman. "You like this shit?" Dom asked with a wrinkled nose.

Regan was speechless, and Cara searched her mind for something to say. Mia stuck her tongue out. "This guy isn't very good is he?"

"No," Regan croaked. "He's a wretched singer."

The announcer came on after the song finished, "And that was Zack Kind's new song _Lost the Fire_. When interviewed Nick told us that he wrote that right after his break up with former girlfriend Regan Wells. Regan, a prominent socialite has been out of the party scene for the past few months, and there's a lot of mystery involved as to where she went. Regan, if you're listening, sounds like you're someone's muse back home..."

"I think I'm going to puke," Regan stated plainly.

"That was absolutely pathetic," Cara said at the same time. "I mean seriously, we all know that song was written way before the break up. I mean, hello, it isn't like he could get it recorded and on the air that quickly."

Dom looked at Regan worriedly. "Did you get too much sun?"

"Wow, you know your celebrity gossip," Mia murmured looking at Cara strangely.

Cara laughed a bit uncomfortably. "I can't help it. I'm addicted to those magazines," she said lamely.

Regan was waving Dom's concern off. "I'm fine. Just a little overheated. Maybe some water?" Yes, she thought, a giant pool full of water that I can drown Zack in and rid him from my life.

Regan was pretty burnt by the time they left the beach, but she didn't mind so much. Overall the day had been really good. She'd gotten to spend time with Cara, her new friends, and most importantly, Dom and Lily. After the song incident she'd just tried to block out all negative thoughts. Poor Dom had looked really concerned for her. She'd almost told him who she was, but at the last minute she hadn't. She didn't want him to look at her differently. He liked Annie; maybe he wouldn't like her as Regan. She'd tried to explain this to Cara, but her cousin just stared at her as if she was mental. Maybe Cara was right, but Regan wasn't going to test it yet. She'd tell them all eventually. She could only hope he wouldn't be angry that she'd been hiding the truth.

"You comin' over later?" Dom murmured from the driver seat. Occasionally he would rub her leg when he wasn't shifting.

Regan turned towards him with a smile. "That an invitation?"

"Always."

"I'd like that," She told him softly, and couldn't help but feel her heart speed up at the look in his dark eyes. Both Cara and Lily were asleep in the backseat; Lily in her car-seat, and Cara sprawled across the rest of the seat.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that."

When they got home the group split and went their separate ways. Even as they walked into the house Cara was still yawning. "I think I'm going to make some phone calls, take a bath, and go to bed."

"Okay. While you're making your calls I think I'm going to take a quick shower, but then I'm going over to see Dom."

"I see." Cara grinned and wriggled her eyebrows.

"Cara…I think I'm going to do it…I'm going to sleep with Dom," Regan's voice was hesitant and Cara's face turned serious.

"Really? Are you sure you want to? I know how you feel about that Reggie. Don't do anything you're not ready for. Don't do anything you don't feel comfortable with." Cara moved closer to Regan.

"But I do. I really want to be with him. But I'm scared Cara. I think I'm falling in love with him, and that can't be good."

"Why not? He obviously feels the same way about you." Cara looked baffled. "The boy totally has goo goo eyes anytime you show up."

"Because eventually I have to go back to my life…my real life. And that's in New York."

"Doesn't have to be." Cara stated simply. "Your life can be whatever, and wherever you want it to be Regan…it's just going to be up to you to decide that. I definitely think you should tell him who you really are though." Cara reached out and tugged a lock of Regan's hair. "Go take your shower and go see your man."

It didn't take long for Regan to get cleaned up and head over to the house next door. The first thing Dom did when he opened the door was pull her in for a kiss. When they finally broke apart his eyes gleamed. "Sorry," he murmured breathlessly, "I've been wanting to do that all day."

"Trust me that was all my pleasure." She smiled up at him.

"I promised Lily you'd come in and say goodnight when you got here. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." Regan headed directly for the nursery where Lily sat quietly playing with blocks. She looked half asleep where she sat and it almost made Regan chuckle. "There's that beautiful girl."

Lily's head turned and she grinned. "Anan! Seepy time!" She spoke in her sweet, sing-song voice.

Regan scooped the little girl up and took her to her toddler's bed. "That's right, it is sleepy time. You have good dreams sweetheart." Regan leaned in and kissed the little girl's neck causing the girl to giggle. Lily kissed her back. Dom had moved up and was also leaning over to tuck his little girl in.

"Nigh nigh Anan. Nigh nigh Da."

"Night Pumpkin." Dom murmured when he'd given her his batch of kisses. The two left the room and Dom quietly shut the door. Regan wrapped her arms around Dom's waist and leaned into his body. Her skin was tender, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. "She's going to be out like a light."

"I could tell. She was falling asleep on her toys."

"Wanna go make out on the couch?" he whispered, leaning in and nibbling her ear.

"No," she told him just as softly. She backed up and noticed the confusion on his face. She continued backing towards his bedroom door. "I don't want to go make out on the couch. I want you to take me to your bedroom. I want to stay with you tonight Dominic."

Dom followed her to the room silently, shutting the door before turning to face Annie. She had her back to him and was facing his bed. He stepped forward and touched her shoulder causing her to jump slightly. "Annie, if you're not ready for this..."

She turned quickly. "I'm ready. I'm just a little nervous," she promised. "Probably seems silly to you."

Dom looked down into her navy eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Not silly at all. I never find you silly," he murmured, and lowered his mouth to hers. It was a slow kiss, and he kept it that way purposely; slow and sensual.

Regan brought her hands up and placed them on Dom's shoulders. The muscles flexed involuntarily under her palms and it made her heart race. He lowered his hands until they ran lightly over her bottom and then he massaged her rear, drawing a low groan from her. Regan pulled away from Dom and smiled up at him. She pulled the tank top she was wearing up and over her head silently dropping it to the floor. He moved forward again and his hands moved to work the button and zipper of her shorts. As soon as they were released they too fell, and she stepped out of them. It left her wearing only a lacy white bra and matching white panties.

"Your turn," she whispered and moved her hands to his pants. While she worked on his belt, he pulled his shirt over his head and flung it to the side. It wasn't long until his pants were lying with hers.

Dom moved back and sat on the bed, pulling her close to him. "Come here Baby." He dipped his head forward and trailed his mouth along her ribs above her navel. She shuddered with the sensation. His hands had moved to her bottom again. While his mouth was busy lavishing attention on her midsection, Regan reveled in the sensations. She wished she knew why it was Dominic who had the ability to make her feel these amazing things.

His hands had moved up her back to her bra and had unclasped it. She let it fall off of her shoulders and down her arms. He immediately moved his lips to begin suckling at one pert nipple. Regan gasped and her knees buckled. Dom swung her onto the bed, and into a reclining position. She was sure she was in heaven, lying in the middle of the big bed, almost naked, with an almost naked Dom doing heavenly things to her body. He made her feel more than anyone else ever had. He set her entire body on fire. Regan ran her hands over his body, wanting to give him as much pleasure as he was giving her. Her hand trailed down his abdomen, down the rock hard muscles there, down his belly button, to his groin, and finally she touched his erection. It was his turn to groan. She wrapped her hand around it and tugged, which seemed to make him feel good if his movements and noises were any indication. His attentions to her breasts and body had sped up as soon as she'd touched him.

Regan felt herself getting very damp, and wanted Dom to take it to the next step. She moved forward and whispered in his ear. "I want you Dominic. I want you in my body now. Please."

He didn't seem to hesitate. His hands only moved for an instant to pull her panties off. While he did this she pushed his boxers from his hips, and then he opened the drawer in the nightstand next to the bed and took out a small package. She blushed when she saw it was a condom. He took a moment to put it on and then positioned himself at her opening. Again his dark eyes met hers; both sets were filled with matching desire. "This is where it might hurt Baby," he murmured in regret.

"I know," she told him in a tiny, sweet voice. "But it won't last. I trust you."

He merged his mouth with hers, and entered her slowly. It wasn't that it hurt, but it stretched. He was long, and wide, and she felt as if she was being pulled open. It wasn't cold and hard like a trip to the gynecologist, no, this was much better, but it was also much bigger. He was like warm, soft covered steel, and while it caused some discomfort, it also felt good. Then came the pain. A moment of pain when it felt like he could go no further, but he kept going, and pushed through some sort of barrier. Regan winced slightly, and must have made some sort of sound, because he began murmuring things to her. He stilled for a moment, but then he began to move again. In and out. For a moment she was scared; scared it would continue to hurt, but it didn't. In fact, it started to feel wonderful, and soon Regan found herself responding. She found herself meeting his movements with her own. They found a rhythm, and she buried her head into his shoulder as she wrapped her legs around his waist. His arms were around her, holding her close to him, and it felt as if they were merging into one being. Then she felt it building, something inside of her, pushing her over, and with a cry she dropped over the edge and hit her orgasm. Dom hit his own seconds later, but didn't release her. Instead he stayed atop her, keeping her close to him, pressing kisses along her clavicle and neck.

"That was wonderful," she whispered. "Was I okay?"

He smiled down at her. "You were better than okay Baby...you were spectacular."

"You're just teasing me," she looked away frowning.

"I'm not, I promise," he told her, and using an index finger forced her chin back so she'd look at him. "I loved every second of that."

She began to smile shyly. "I did too. Thank you."

"No. Thank you Annie." Dom leaned down to kiss her. He wished he could tell her what it had really meant to him...that she'd given herself to him like that. Too many fears were rearing their ugly heads though. Fuck, he didn't even know if she was gonna stick around...


	8. Chapter 8

When Dom woke up it was to find himself alone in his bed. She'd left while he'd been asleep. He could only hope she didn't have any regrets. Deciding not to worry about it he got up and went to take care of Lily who he heard stirring in the other room. As he exited his room he heard Mia laughing in the kitchen as she talked on the phone to someone.

Regan showered and reveled in the feel of the hot water cascading down over her achy muscles. It stung her sunburn a bit, but still it felt good. She'd never realized how many muscles a person would be using if they had sex. She wondered if Dom had any regrets about the night before. She hoped not. She'd loved every minute and looked forward to being with him again. Cara had still been sleeping when she'd come in, so she hadn't had a chance to talk to her cousin yet, but she wondered if Cara's experiences in that realm had been anywhere near the same.

Regan was in the process of putting biscuits in the oven when Cara entered the kitchen. "So...tell me...did you? Did you?"

Regan couldn't keep the smile off her face. "I did."

Cara squealed, "And, was it everything you wanted it to be? I remember my first time. It sucked!"

"Really? Oh, Cara, it was amazing. Dom is amazing," Regan sighed. "I can't wait to do it again."

Cara clapped her hands in excitement. "How did he take the news of who you really are?"

Regan lost her smile. "I didn't tell him."

"Oh Reggie! Why not?"

"I don't know how to now Cara...I mean, won't he think I've been lying to him this whole time?"

"Reggie! You have to tell the man. He has a right to know."

"I just don't know yet."

"Knock knock!" Mia's voice came from the living room, "Anyone here?"

"Please don't say anything in front of Mia," Regan begged softly, and then called out. "We're in the kitchen Mia!!"

Mia and Lily entered the room, both with smiling faces. "How are you two today? Oh Annie! That burn looks painful!"

"It's a little tender, but overall it's good," she promised the brunette.

"If you're sure. Little Miss Lily and I were going shopping and we wanted to know if you wanted to come with us?"

"That would be awesome!" Cara's face lit up. "I love shopping."

"Sounds good to me too," Regan assured Dom's sister.

When the women got back from shopping it was to find Dom, Brian, and Vince in the backyard drinking some beers. "Where have you guys been for so long?" Brian asked his wife as she headed directly to him for a kiss.

"I thought I was a shopping expert, let me tell you something Annie and Cara have shown me the error of my beliefs." she laughed.

Dom greeted Regan with a kiss. "You will never believe what was all over the news today?" He told her as she took a seat at the picnic table.

"What?"

"That babysitter, Gisella Martin, she was arrested today." Dom looked amazed.

"Wow, what charges?" Regan widened her eyes and tried to look surprised.

"Turns out she's been involved in a kidnapping ring. She and her partners kidnap children, babies mostly, and then sell 'em to rich people. Like six people were taken down with her. As soon as I saw that it scared the shit out of me! I mean if it hadn't been for you, Lily could've been one of those kids. Some FBI bigwig, a Theodore Barlow, did a big press conference."

As soon as Dom said the name of the FBI agent Cara, who'd been taking a drink of a beer, spewed the liquid from her mouth and began coughing. "You okay there?" Vince asked the pretty brunette and clapped her on the back.

"I'm okay," she choked out. "Swallowed...swallowed down the wrong pipe." She met Regan's gaze with wide eyes.

Oh shit, Regan thought. Uncle Theo's in town. She could only imagine him leaving messages at her home phone since her cell had been off all day. This was not good. Whether she wanted to tell Dom or not it was starting to look like the Fates were against her. First the song by Zack, now Uncle Theo...She felt lightheaded for a moment. "Well, we can just be really, really grateful we got her away from Lily."

Mia hugged Regan tightly. "Oh Annie, just another reason we're so glad you're here." She sniffled once and moved to Brian.

Brian smiled down at her. She'd been all kinds of emotional since they'd found out about the baby. "I'd better get my girl here home," he told the group. "Someone needs some rest, and it would probably do Mia some good too." Everyone laughed at the joke, and the two left.

"What's up for tonight?" Vince asked.

Dom looked to Regan. "You feel like snuggling up for a movie tonight?"

"I think that sounds perfect."

Cara snorted. "Good grief, even in LA you're acting like an old person. We should go out to a club." And avoid my dad, she thought to herself.

"I'll take you to a club if you want Cara," Vince offered.

Cara looked very interested in this prospect. "Why, that's really nice of you Vince. That would be great. It'll take me about an hour to get ready."

"I'll come by the house and get you," he told her, and then they both headed to the separate homes.

Dom moved closer to Regan and wrapped his arms around her and his daughter who she still held in her arms. "Alone at last with my two favorite girls," he murmured and gave them both a kiss.

They'd put Lily to bed, and the little girl had been asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Now Regan sat on the couch waiting for Dom so they could start their movie. She was extremely nervous. She knew she had to tell him who she was. She knew if she did it now he'd be mad, but maybe he wouldn't be as angry as she thought. Access Hollywood was on as he entered and he nuzzled her neck for a moment. They were talking about Paris Hilton and her boyfriend of the moment.

"How can you watch that?" he murmured as he nibbled on her ear.

"What do you mean?" her voice was almost a whisper as the sensations washed over her.

"Those people are pathetic. They have no idea what real life is all about."

"That's not necessarily true. Their lives are just different from what you consider real life," she defended guiltily.

Dom chuckled. "Baby, you can't tell me that girl there knows anything about doing without. She's never had to do without anything she's ever wanted."

"Maybe her wants are just different than yours."

Dom had moved down to her neck now and it was getting harder for her to think. "It's not even about wants really. She's never had to go without, never needed something and not had it." He dipped his tongue into the indention of her clavicle drawing a gasp from her. "Let's not talk about them."

"Good idea," she whispered and caught his mouth with her own.

Regan woke up when the sun was just starting to rise. She was still in Dom's bed. She hadn't meant to fall asleep and stay the night, but he had worn her out the night before. She eased out of the bed, dressed silently and quickly, and headed home. She passed Vince on the way. Regan had to laugh as the cat that ate the canary look was wiped from his face by a look of panic at getting caught buttoning the fly of his jeans. "Morning Vince, nice night?" she asked innocently.

"Um, great…" Then he realized she was coming from his house, after probably taking part in the same type of activity he'd been taking part in. He grinned. "How about you? Good night?"

Her eyes twinkled in shared merriment with him. "The best." She did something unexpected then. She lifted her hand and as they passed each other they gave each other a high five, laughed, and continued on their way to their respective homes.

Her phone was ringing as she entered, so she answered to find her Uncle on the phone. They spoke for several moments before Cara dragged herself out of the bedroom to come speak with her father. There was a knock on the door and Regan decided that it was going to be an extremely busy day. She was still smiling widely as she opened the door to find Mia on the other side. Mia didn't look happy.

"Hey Mia, come on in! How are you today? Did you want something to drink?" Mia followed Regan into the living room but still didn't speak. Noticing her friend's silence she turned and that's when she the magazine Mia was carrying. "What's going on?" she asked not wanting to see the cover.

"That's what I need to know Annie…or should I call you Regan?" Mia asked slowly, but not unkindly.

Fear gripped Regan. "Have you told him?"

Mia sighed and took a seat on the couch. "If you mean Dom, no, I haven't. Why haven't you? What is all this Annie? Is this some sort of game?"

"No! No, it's never been a game." Regan was shaking her head back and forth frantically. "I was so burned out Mia. You're there, and you're in the spotlight whether you want to be or not…and they're constantly hounding you…Your family is the only thing you can really count on, because most of your so called friends are only friends because of your name, or your money. I just couldn't take it anymore…I had to get away. I didn't ever think I would meet people like you all. I didn't ever think I'd meet someone like Dom. I just thought I'd come and rent my little house and disappear for a while. That's all I wanted…I just wanted to disappear."

"And when you did meet us? When you and Dom started something, why didn't you tell him then?" Mia hated seeing her friend so torn up, but this was her brother they were dealing with.

Regan didn't know what to say. Cara beat her to it. "She was terrified." Cara walked into the room and sat on the other end of the couch. "She didn't think your brother would stay interested for very long, but then she fell in love with him. And now she doesn't know how to say it. She thinks he'll turn his back on her."

"Brian does know you, doesn't he?" Mia asked Cara.

"He arrested me once when I was a stupid kid," Cara admitted. "Reggie's not trying to hurt anyone Mia. Least of all Dom."

"You have to tell him Annie. He and Lily are in too deep with you for you not to tell him. I won't tell him, but you have to." Mia looked back to the pacing redhead.

"I will. I promise." Regan tried to keep the tears from her voice. "Cara told me I had to tell him, but I was so scared."

"He's not a monster, sweetie. He might be angry at first, but he'll appreciate you coming forward to tell him everything," Mia promised. "If you're the one he finds out from."

**


	9. Chapter 9

Regan stared out the front window of her small rental house and sighed. She and Cara had gone and had lunch with her uncle in Santa Monica earlier in the day and she was still dressed in the outfit she'd worn. Cara hadn't said anything, but Regan wasn't stupid enough to think that they'd avoided having their picture taken. Soon it would be all over that Regan Wells had been spotted in Los Angeles.

"Reggie..."

"Don't," Regan murmured. "Don't say it. Don't tell me everything is going to be okay. I know I have to tell him, and I have to tell him tonight." All that kept going through her mind was his attitude when they'd watched the entertainment program. He'd been so full of scorn and disdain.

"He loves you Reggie, I'd bet my life on it," Cara's words were soft.

Regan turned to look at her cousin with a bitter twist to her lips, "He loves his neighbor 'Annie'. And it's my own fault because that's who I was for him." There was a knocking at the door and when she made no move towards it Cara went to answer.

"Hey Cara!" Dom's voice boomed through the house. It was happy and it seemed he was laughing at something. He and Vince entered followed by her cousin. "Hey Babe, wow, look at you! Should I ask what you were doing today?"

Regan looked at him without speaking, and felt her heart sink. There was no way around this. Cara grabbed Vince by the arm, "Come on V, you and me and have to have a talk." She watched the two leave the room.

Dom felt dread begin to pool in his stomach. Annie stood within a few feet of him, but it felt like she was miles away. She was dressed in a dress that looked more expensive than her whole house. "What's going on Annie?" Now his voice was serious.

"There's so much to tell you... and it's not easy for me. You're not going to like hearing it, but I hope you'll listen. I hope you'll try to understand where I was coming from, and why I did what I did," her words were soft spoken. Regan wrapped her arms around herself to try to steady her emotions. "Before I came here I was pretty close to breaking down. I couldn't sleep, could barely eat... I was losing a lot of weight. My life was the same thing over and over, and I was in a relationship that meant nothing. I've mentioned Zack. We dated for four months, and in that time I never felt close to what I felt with you from day one."

Dom stared at Annie, not understanding what exactly was happening.

"I told you I caught him having sex with another girl. It was in the stall of a nightclub we frequented. In fact we were supposed to meet up that night. And when I caught them, I felt relief. A few weeks later I was on a blind date and I realized, my god, what am I doing with this man... I walked out in the middle of the date, quite rude in my social circles actually..." Her mouth grimaced in memory, "I knew that night I needed a change. I needed to get away from the life I was living. I told my family and started my journey across country. I ended up here. And then I met you and Lily... and everyone."

"I know most of this Annie," Dom murmured.

Regan looked down, "I know…" There was only a moment of silence. "I'm not your Annie Dom. I mean, I'm her. I'm exactly the person I was any time I was with you, but my name isn't Annie. It's Regan. My name is Regan Wells. I took Annie from my middle name."

"What?" Dom was in disbelief. Where did he know that name from?

"My parents are Dean and Suzanna Wells. We have a lot of money, and unfortunately my picture is in the tabloids quite often."

"They talked about you... on the radio after that stupid song," now Dom's voice was bland.

"Yes. Nick was trying to get better publicity for his son, Zack... Zack Kind, my ex. I can say I wasn't the inspiration, but I don't think that really matters right now."

"So, what? You've just been slumming?"

Regan felt like she'd been slapped, and she looked up at him her eyes glittering with anger, "Never! I never felt that way about you! I never thought I'd meet someone like you. I just wanted a normal life. I wanted to be away from the constant spot light. I wanted to be able to breathe… I just… I just couldn't breathe."

"Fine. So you got away, and you came here... but when things started developing between us why didn't you tell me?" Anger now was starting to lace his words.

"I was scared," she whispered. "I thought if you knew who I really was you'd despise me. I didn't think you'd give me the time of day. I was going to tell you the other night, but then we saw that show on Paris and you were so condescending... so sure that no one from that world would understand..."

"You lied to me."

"You're right, I did… I'm sorry."

"Why did you decide to tell me now?"

"I wanted you to find out from me, not someone else."

"Well, you told me. Thanks," Dom stood and headed for the door.

"Dom..."

He stopped, "What?"

"I love you."

He chuckled dryly, "If you loved me you wouldn't have lied."

**

Regan sat on the couch in silence. She didn't know what she should be doing now. He'd walked out of her house three days before and she hadn't seen or spoken to him since. Mia had come by, but the look in her eyes had been something Regan couldn't deal with. So she'd pleaded illness. She hadn't really been lying. Her belly and head ached fiercely. The other girl had hugged her, and left. Cara too had been making herself scarce, something else Regan was grateful for. She knew her Uncle Theodore was still in town. There was a lot of fall out from the arrest of that woman, and he had to clean it all up.

Regan stood and moved over to the window which showed her a view of the street. It was raining out. That brought a wry smile to her lips. It had barely rained at all while she'd been here. Her eyes caught Dom's car pulling in next door so she left the window before he could see her. Or was it before she could possibly see him? Regan wasn't sure she could handle that. Her heart hurt more than she thought was possible.

She sighed. Regan knew what she had to do. She couldn't remain in this house next door to the man she loved while he pretended she didn't exist. She couldn't stay here in this house and know Lily was next door, and not see the little girl. Regan loved the toddler as much as she loved Dom. It was time to go home.

&&

Dom pulled into the driveway and without realizing it looked to the house next door. It had been a week since he'd seen her. His stomach churned. How could she lie to him? After everything they'd shared… Dom moved to take Lily out of the car-seat and his head began to pound. There in the front yard was a For Rent sign. She was leaving.

Well, sure she was, he thought nastily. She'd had her fun, now it was time to go back to her mansions and rich friends. A part of him told him that he wasn't being fair, but he squelched that part. He knew Cara was sticking around for a while. She was still spending time with V, who'd somehow shrugged the whole thing off. He didn't seem to care that the girls hadn't been up front from the beginning.

The sun was shining, and he was glad for it after the past few days of rain. "You wanna play in the backyard today Angel?" he asked his daughter.

"Anan, Da?" she asked and it brought his fury up again. Not only had she lied to him, but she'd broken his daughter's heart.

"Excuse me, are you Dominic Toretto?"

Dom turned to see a familiar looking distinguished older man in an expensive suit standing in the driveway looking at him expectantly. "That's me."

The man smiled and approached. He held out his hand for Dom to shake. "I'm Theodore Barlow."

Dom realized he recognized the man from television. He was the FBI agent who arrested Gisella Martin. "I just got off work, and while I washed my hands, I'm pretty sure they're not that clean."

Theodore shrugged him off and shook hands anyhow, "A little dirt never hurt anyone! This must be Lily!"

"Yeah…" Dom's eyes narrowed.

Theodore grinned, "My niece, Regan, told me all about the beautiful little girl who lived next door."

"Annie… sorry, Regan's your niece?"

"Oh yes. She's the one who alerted us to Ms. Martin. We might not have caught onto her so quickly if Regan hadn't done her research and called me." The man looked proud. "Regan's always had such a sensible head on her shoulders. When my daughter, Cara, told her mother and me that she was coming to stay with Regan, well, we were quite pleased. I don't worry quite so much about my girl when she's with her cousin. Some of their friends are… flakey, to say the least, but Regan's never been one to follow that path."

Dom could only nod slowly; he really didn't know why this man was talking to him. "Your family must be glad for Regan coming home then." He steeled himself against the pain that thought brought. She was leaving him, his traitorous mind whispered.

"Oh, yes, I know they're planning a welcome home party. She flew back yesterday of course." Theodore looked at the young man in front of him. Something told the FBI agent of twenty years there was more to the man's relationship with his niece than just one of friendly neighbors. "I'm actually here to pick up Cara for dinner. But, knowing that you and your daughter were the prompts behind Regan's call to me regarding that woman… I saw you and wanted to meet you."

"It was all Regan. I didn't do anything," he murmured, still in shock that she was already gone.

"She's talked about all of you a little bit the few times we talked while she lived here…" Theodore told the other man. "I thank you for giving her what she needed. Regan has been in the spotlight her entire life. Some people thrive in that environment… our Regan, well, she doesn't. That's probably why we didn't fight too hard when she wanted to strike out on her own. I've never seen her as happy as she was when we went to lunch last week. I hope that going back won't take that away from her."

Dom met the other's man gaze and didn't look away.

"Daddy!" Cara was smiling as she headed towards the two men. Vince walked behind her looking a bit nervous. "Hi Dom, Hi Lily!"

"Car!" the little girl squealed, and then looked behind her friend, "Anan?"

"Sorry sweetie," Cara murmured, and then cleared her throat. "Daddy, this is Vince, my friend," Cara put a slight emphasis on friend, making Vince blush.

Theodore shook hands with the scruffy man, "Vince, it's a pleasure to meet you. Tell me, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a…um, I'm a mechanic," Vince wondered if this would be the kiss of death to his and Cara's relationship.

Theodore smiled, "An excellent occupation! I myself tinkered on vehicles in my youth, and I'm currently rebuilding a Fiat in my garage at home… unfortunately, with my job I don't get to work on it nearly as much as I'd like to." The older man sighed, "One day though… Enough about that. Ready for dinner Sweet Pea?"

"Yep."

"Vince, Dom, would you like to join us?" he offered.

Vince didn't let his surprise show, but Dom was shellshocked by the invitation. Vince agreed readily. Dom declined, and watched as the trio left. He would never have expected the man to be so accepting, or willing to get to know him or V. The guy was a Feeb… a cop… Dom wasn't stupid. He knew the man had to have pulled his record. He had to know Dom and V were convicts… felons.

Dom found himself looking at the house next door again. He found himself remembering Regan as she tried to fix her washer, so damned determined it would work… so damned determined to clean up her own mess. He found himself remembering how she burnt the shit out of those muffins, and had no idea how to even boil water. Dom found himself remembering how thin and haunted she'd looked when she first came. "Fuck," he muttered struggling with his memories. He carried his daughter inside and caught sight of a picture of Valeria. "Fuck Val, what the hell do I do now?"


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I am really loving being able to write again. This is one of my favorite stories. So, I will be updating. Just so everyone knows there will be some heartbreak as well as some happiness. I hope you all enjoy it. And I hope you'll all continue to read and review. Your reviews mean so much to me.

________________

Regan stood in front of the mirror adjusting the strap of her Vera Wang gown. Her parents were hosting a charity gala to raise money to help rebuild the small town of Spencer in Iowa that a tornado ripped apart. Her Grandfather, her father's father, had been born and raised in the small town. There was a light tapping on the door and she called out for them to enter. She looked over to see her mother entering.

"You look stunning," Suzanna Wells murmured; the light British accent still present even after years of living in America. "Absolutely breathtaking."

"Thank you. But I happen to know the most stunning woman here is you, Momma." She wasn't far off. Suzanna was a striking woman, just a few inches taller than Regan with the same curling, auburn hair. Her face was like flawless porcelain, and her eyes were a dark, chocolate brown. Regan favored her mother quite a bit, inheriting her eyes, freckles and chin from her father.

"You don't have to go tonight if you don't want to," Suzanna offered.

Regan smiled. "Momma, I haven't gone out at all since I've gotten back. It's been a month. It's time to start getting back into the swing of things. My holiday is over."

"You loved this man?"

"Dominic?" At her mother's nod, Regan looked at the floor. "Yes. I still love him… Momma?" Tears threatened to splash.

Suzanna put her arms around her daughter. "Talk to me, my little Sweet Pea."

"I'm pregnant," Regan finally said the words out loud and the sick feeling she'd had in her belly since she'd found out lessened. "I'm pregnant, and I'm keeping this baby. And I have to tell Dominic." Regan turned away from the mirror and moved towards the small sitting area in her bedroom suite. She sank down into one of the comfortable armchairs, and her mother did the same. "I'm terrified to tell him. Don't misunderstand, I don't think he'd hurt me and I don't think he'd want me to have an abortion. If anything he'd probably think that's what I'd want. It isn't like we left things on good terms. But… I'm scared of his words. Scared he'll hate me."

"What if he doesn't want anything to do with the child?" Suzanna asked her daughter.

"Then I'll come back here and work on forgetting about him."

"But if he wants to know his child, you're moving there?"

Regan looked at her mother, and knew this would be hard on the other woman. "Yes. He's such a great father, Momma; just watching him with Lily… it's amazing and beautiful." Regan placed both of her hands on her still flat belly. She'd lost all of the haunted lines and shadows from her face in her time in California, and now being pregnant had started to fill her out. Nothing major yet, but it was a start. "We were so careful… I'm on the pill, and he used condoms every time. And now this tiny life is growing inside me."

Suzanna took a deep breath and stood. "Tonight we go down and mingle, and raise money for those people in Iowa. Tomorrow, we get you on your way back to Los Angeles."

"Thank you, Momma."

**

Everyone had gone for the day, and Dom was just closing up for the day when he noticed a dark four door sedan pull into the parking lot. He frowned wondering what they could want. Normally the cars he dealt with were neighborhood cars or street racing cars. After a moment an older man with silver hair got out of the driver side and moved to the back passenger side door. Dom just watched, not showing any emotion as the man opened the door and a petite, expensively dressed redhead exited the vehicle. It took a moment, but the instant that Dom realized it was Regan the pain he'd been fighting for the past month in which she'd been gone seemed to lessen; just seeing her felt like water to a dehydrated man.

Dom didn't move, instead staying where he stood and just watching her. She'd gained a little weight since he'd seen her last. Not so much as a person would notice probably, but he did. Finally, the older man let go of her elbow.

Regan looked up and saw Dominic looking at her. She felt tears trying to escape, but willed them away. God he was beautiful. Now she could only hope he would talk to her. She began moving forward, the caretaker of her parent's Catalina Island estate, Max, right behind her. Once she'd drawn close enough she found she was shy. She didn't know quite how to start. What if he wouldn't even talk to her?

"Hello, Dominic," she started softly.

"Ann… Regan," he started, cut himself off and finished with her given name, his bottom lip firming in anger.

She looked down, laughing a little. "You know, part of the reason I used Annie… my middle name is Annika, after my Grandmother, she passed away last year. I miss her very much."

"You mentioned her."

"Yes… I remember." Regan looked at him carefully. He looked very tired. "We need to talk. It's very important or I wouldn't bother you… I know I did enough damage. Do you have time to speak now, or do you need to make arrangements?"

Dom stared at her. He didn't know what they could possibly have to discuss. Maybe she was scared he'd sell the story of their relationship to a tabloid. "Let me call Mia and see if she can watch Lily. I don't want you around her," he said before walking a short distance away.

Regan knows he has every right to say it, but it still stabs her like a knife that he wants to keep his beautiful little girl away from her… that he hates her that much. She turns to face a different direction, tears rolling down her face, ruining her perfect make up.

"Miss Wells, perhaps we should do this another day," Max speaks in a soothing voice to the younger woman.

"I just want this part over with, Max," she whispered.

"I do understand that, Miss Wells, however this has already been an extremely long day for you, and you've barely eaten."

His concern makes her laugh. "Did Momma sic you on me to make sure I take my vitamins?"

He doesn't have a chance to respond, as Dom returns. "So, you say we need to talk. Let's talk." Then he folded his arms over his chest and waited for a response.

Max looked at the disgruntled man and lifted one eyebrow. "Miss Wells requires a place to sit in order to hold this discussion. Is there such a place?"

"We can use the picnic table," Regan murmured, already walking towards the table. Max was probably right. She should've probably done this part tomorrow, but… tomorrow she could relax. She sat down and then looked up at Max. "Mr. Toretto and I need to speak. Please go wait by the vehicle." He nodded once and walked away.

Now it was just her and Dom. He took a seat, but looked like he might bolt at any moment. Regan took a small business card out of her purse and slid it over the table to him. "This is just in case we don't manage to finish the conversation and you need to contact me… or even if we do finish it and you need to contact me."

Dom shoved the card in his pocket and didn't speak.

"I wish it wasn't like this between us. I know it doesn't matter now, but I wish I could go back and change things, and I wish you could understand why I did what I did. I wish you could understand that I wasn't trying to hurt you or hurt Lily. I loved you both so much… so much… I would have never purposely hurt either of you. I know none of that matters now though."

Dom felt his heart aching. All he wanted was to hold her in his arms. She'd been gone for a month, one of the most horrible months of his life… then, she finally shows up, says they have to talk… what the hell was going on?

"I'm here to give you a choice. I'm pregnant. I'm just at seven weeks."

Hearing the words brought Dom's thought into crystal clear focus.

"I hope that you trust me enough to know that it's yours, but if you don't then I'll understand and we can do a paternity test once the baby is born."

"I trust you when you say that it's mine," he told her, his voice a bit hoarse.

"Thank you. Anyway, that's why I'm here. When I found out I knew I had to tell you. I would never have not told you." She looked past him, her eyes unfocused. "I suppose I should just get on with it. I need to know if you want to be a part of this child's life, or if you simply want me to walk away and pretend you don't exist?"

Dom's head reared back as if he'd been slapped. "As if I'd EVER let my child grow up not knowing his or her father? I don't care if that is what you want, or what your family wants! That's my kid!"

"Dom!" Regan had to practically scream to get him quiet. He was furious, but at least he was listening. "I just wanted you to have the option. I was hoping you would want to be in your child's life. My parents are hoping you'll want to be in your child's life." Regan took a few deep, and calming breaths. Her doctor had told her she needed to be careful and stay calm. Her mother had two difficult pregnancies, and while the doctor didn't necessarily think Regan would have the same, it was just best to be cautious.

Dom was frowning. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just supposed to be watching my blood pressure. I'm fine," she assured him. "I have plans. If you said yes, you wanted in the baby's life, I planned on moving here. I own the house next to yours, but if you feel that's too close to you and to Lily, well, I can find someplace different. But at least I'll be in the same town. You'll have access to your child." Inside she was pleased. He wanted to know their baby.

"You're telling me that you're willing to live in the house next door to me?"

"It was my home before. I loved it. I would of course keep myself separate from the rest of your life. I would make my own life." Regan hated saying these words. She wanted nothing more than to tell him she wanted to be with him every night, and wake up with him every day. She wanted to spend time with the people he loved, because she'd started loving them too. And she desperately wanted to see and hold Lily again. At least she'd have her cousin. Cara and Vince had purchased a house on the end of the block and seemed to be getting more and more serious. Her cousin's parents loved the big guy.

"It's really not my call where you live, but I wouldn't have a problem with you living in that house. I'd like to be closer to my child," he told her before nodding.

She gave a mighty yawn, laughing a bit at the end, and stood. "I'd better go. I've been lucky so far and haven't had morning sickness, but I do get a bit tired… tons of naps in my future. I'll probably be moving in within the next few days, so if you see movement you know what it is." Then she was walking away, getting into the sedan and being driven off. Dom sat at the table for another hour wondering what was happening now.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I'm trying to work on everything, but some things are just talking louder right now. I hope you guys like this.

Disclaimer:All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Dom headed home as soon as Regan was driven away. As soon as he walked in Mia called out a hello, and he could hear Brian in the living room playing with Lily. Dom headed into the kitchen.

"Hey there," Mia greeted her brother. "How was work for you today?"

"It was normal… until I was closin' up."

Hearing something in his voice, Mia turned to look at her brother. "I was wondering why you needed me to stay. What happened?"

Dom grabbed a Corona out of the fridge and popped it open, taking a big gulp. "She came to the shop today, Mia."

Mia looked at him for a moment, considering his words. "Regan came to the shop today?"

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

He nodded. "She needed to talk to me."

"Okay."

"I told her I didn't want her anywhere near Lily."

"Dom," Mia scolded. "You know that would have hurt her."

He couldn't argue with her. He had wanted to hurt her. Because he'd been hurting for the past month of not knowing what the hell to do. "Lily got so attached to her. You can't deny that An..Regan's leaving hurt her."

"I don't deny it. I know it hurt her. Just like I know it hurt you. But you're the one who could have gone after her. You're the one who could've brought her back. She loves you."

"She's pregnant."

Mia was speechless.

"We were careful every damn time. Condoms, she was on the pill… but she's pregnant. That's what she came to tell me. That I had a choice. If I didn't want anything to do with the child she would go back to where she came from and I'd never hear from her again."

"As if that would happen. And did you freak out?"

"I started to. She stopped me. Told me that both she and her family wanted nothing more than for me to want to be part of my child's life. She said if I did want to be part of the baby's life she'd move here. She'd move into the house next door, or if that was too close for my happiness then she'd moved to the city, just not so close."

Mia leaned back against the counter. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her living next door was fine with me."

"Did you tell her you loved her? Did you tell her you wanted her to move into your house with you and Lily? Did you tell her any of that?" Mia snapped.

"No."

"Did you tell her she'd be able to see Lily?"

Dom winced. "No."

Mia started muttering in Italian. "Are you going to keep her away from Lily?"

Dom sat down heavily on one of the dining room chairs. "What if she leaves again?"

"Oh, Dom," Mia murmured, and walked over to hug him. "If she had plans on leaving she wouldn't have come back. She would have written you a letter. She loves you, Dom. She was terrified of you finding out who she really was… no, I take that back, who she really was, was the person who was with us all those months. She was terrified you'd find out her given name and all that name entails. She thought you'd judge her because of her wealth and her family's status. She was wrong to lie, but she was scared."

"I won't stop her from seeing Lily," he whispered.

Two days later Regan was once more ensconced in her house next door to the Torettos'. When she'd opened the door she'd felt like she was coming home. And this time she'd be staying, making a home in what was once her secret hideaway, so this time she would be taking the time to fix it up and decorate it to suit her desires. She already knew that of the three rooms she would use the room that she'd previously set aside as a guest room for the nursery. She would still have her small office/work out room, and for the first few months she could keep a bassinet in her bedroom if necessary. She didn't have to worry about painting or carpeting on the interior, but now that she was going to stay she definitely wanted to get the exterior painted.

Her mother was getting her personal things boxed up and shipped to her, and those should be at the house within the week. There wasn't anything in them that she had to have though. She had enough clothing to keep her for a few weeks, and it wasn't like there weren't any stores if she did need something. Currently she was in simple cut off denim shorts, and a dark blue tank top. Her hair, which had grown slightly in the month she'd been gone, was now long enough to pull into a pony tail, and she'd done so hoping to keep it out of her face.

Regan headed for her car and the last few boxes.

"Heard you were back."

Regan turned to see Letty standing a few feet away.  
"I didn't necessarily want to leave in the first place," she told the other girl softly.

"Yeah… That's one of the hard things about Dom… He's got a real hard head, and sometimes it takes awhile to get things through to him."

Regan leaned down pulling a box into her arms. "I figured that you, along with everyone else, well, except for maybe Mia, would hate me."

Letty moved forward, bending and taking yet another box from the trunk. "We don't hate you, Regan. Some of us even understand why you did what you did. But not one of us hates you."

Regan turned away, moving into the house with her box, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. She set the box in her bedroom, turning to find Letty right behind her. She knew that Letty saw the tears. "I'm just…" she began, she didn't know if Dom had told his family anything.

Letty set down her box and moved over to Regan. "You're just pregnant, and your emotions are all over the place and you don't know what's going on or what's gonna happen… and you love him." Regan burst into tears and Letty pulled her close, hugging the other woman. "Ya know, there was a girl quite a bit like you actually, before her you wouldn't have had me hugging you. You're gonna be okay, Regan. And you're not here alone. You got us."

Regan cried for several minutes, and Letty just held her. Finally, the redhead pulled away, wiping her eyes as she went.

"Okay, that's uncool," Letty complained.

"What is?" Regan asked, her voice muffled as she went in search of a tissue or four.

"Even after crying you're still so pretty. If I cry my eyes get red, my nose swells and my lips get all red."

Regan laughed a little. "Letty, I seriously doubt that. You're stunning." Finally cleaned up she headed back out to grab another box. "And you're not going to be ballooning up for the next few months. I am seriously constantly starving!"

"Should you be lifting these?"

The question was unexpected, her head still turned towards the doorway. Regan shrieked and jumped, her hand going to her heart. She turned surprised eyes to Dom who stood next her car, Vince at his side. Regan took a moment to breathe in before answering. "I can lift those. There's only one I can't get and I already have help lined up for that," she told him and began moving towards the trunk again.

"I can get it for you now," he offered.

"That's all right. I didn't move here so that you could do things for me or fix things for me. If I need something done, I'll get it done," she told him lifting a box of clothes. As she turned to go back inside she heard a childish squeal.

Mia was coming around the back of Dom's home, her pregnancy obvious, holding onto Lily's hand. As soon as Lily saw Regan she squealed and broke away from Mia. The box Regan was clutching fell from her hands onto the concrete, and her entire body began trembling. "Rey-An, Rey-An," the little girl shouted and grabbed hold of Regan's legs. The toddler was extremely pleased to see the redhead.

Regan knelt down. "Hi there, Lily. How are you?"

Now Lily's little face scrunched up. "Where go?" she demanded.

Regan kept expecting Dom to swoop in and snatch his daughter away from her. "I had to go home for a little while," she explained.

Lily looked confused and pointed at Regan's house. "Home?"  
"Not quite, sweetheart," Regan murmured. The tears were right behind her eyes. She was so close to losing her composure. Why? Why wouldn't he stop this torture? She knew he wasn't going to let her have Lily in her life, so why wouldn't he just pick the little girl up and take her away? Regan was pretty sure she was going to vomit.

She stood up abruptly, apologizing and raced for her bathroom. It didn't take but a second to lock the door behind her. She certainly didn't need company. The tears began rolling as soon as the door was shut, and then she did vomit into the toilet. Even as she washed her face and brushed her teeth she continued to cry; and to pray. She just prayed he left and took his little girl with him. She had no future with either of them and seeing them both together felt very painful. Perhaps, after a few months it would begin to be bearable.

When she finally walked out of the restroom it was to find Mia and Cara waiting for her, and the last of the boxes, even the heaviest, unloaded into her home. "You okay?" Cara asked.

"I'm fine. Guess I shouldn't have gloated over not having morning sickness, huh?"

"It is pretty horrible, isn't it?" Mia gave her a gentle smile.

"Certainly not my favorite experience."

"We're having a cook out…" the girl began.

"No," Regan cut her off. "I appreciate the offer, Mia, I really do. But that's just something I cannot do."


	12. Chapter 12

It had been two weeks since Regan had moved back into her home next to the Toretto house. Mia had made a point to invite Regan to almost every activity she or her family were holding, even going as far to remind Regan that Cara would be there since of course Vince was going, but Regan had turned the other pregnant girl down at every turn. She was determined to keep her life separate from Dom's. Hadn't he made it perfectly clear when he'd walked out of her life that he didn't want her any more? Yes, he wanted to know their child, but that didn't mean he wanted Regan.

She did feel bad always turning Mia down. She really liked the other girl. Perhaps if Mia invited her to something that only the girls were doing, she'd say yes to that. Regan did spend a lot of time with Cara, and Vince due to the two being attached at the lips. Today though it seemed everyone was gone. Well, except for Mia, who was babysitting Lily next door. Regan had made arrangements to have her house painted, so she wanted to get the gutters cleaned out before the two men came to paint. She was also having some dead bushes, and a dying tree removed from her backyard. Regan was excited at the prospect of getting all the major work done so she could start doing the little things.

Humming to herself as she dressed in cutoffs and tank top, she slathered her body with the highest point sun-block she could find. She put on her good sneakers, grabbed her good gloves and put on her baseball cap. She was ready to go.

As she was laying down plastic, to catch the leaves she threw out of the gutter, Mia and Lily came outside.

"Hi, Regan," Mia called out.

"Rey An! Rey An!" the little girl squealed, and immediately moved over for hugs.

Regan didn't disappoint, giving lots of hugs and kisses to the little girl before setting her back down.

Lily started playing in the sandbox her daddy had built her, and Mia stretched out on the lounge with a few tabloids. Regan moved the ladder into position and climbed up to start her work.

"Wow, I don't think anyone has ever cleaned these," Regan wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Mia laughed. "Probably not. The last couple were elderly, then he passed away, and she couldn't do it. I'm sure it never crossed her mind."

Regan had been working for about forty five minutes and she was already feeling exhausted. She wasn't even done on the back gutter, and she had three more to do. Steeling herself, she went back to cleaning the gutter.

Dom parked on the street so as not to block Mia in, and walked up the driveway. Lily squealed as soon as she saw him and began pointing towards Regan's house. "Da, 'ook, Rey An 'igh. Rey An ruf."

Dom followed her finger and his heart almost stopped as he saw Regan perched on the second to the top step of a tall ladder cleaning out gutters. She was sweating profusely, and she looked like she was trembling slightly. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!?"

Mia hid her smile in her magazine as Dom's overprotective streak broke the surface.

Regan turned slightly, blinking startled eyes at him. "Um, cleaning the gutters?" Her tone was completely innocent. "I've got painters coming to do the exterior and I need to get this done before they get here on Thursday. That gives me three days to get this done."

Dom had already stomped over to the ladder, put his hands around her waist, and gently lifted her down off the ladder. "I will get your gutters down. You are pregnant and should not be climbing ladders. Anything that needs doing, like this, I will do."

"That's ridiculous, Dom…" she started.

"No, it's not." He put his palm over her belly and she couldn't help the shiver as his flesh touched hers. "That's my baby in there, and I will not let anything happen to you or it."

"Okay," she whispered. "I have an appointment on Friday if you want to go. It's just a check up, there's no ultrasound or anything yet."

"What time?"

"Eleven."

"How far away is the doctor's office?"

"It's downtown, so about forty five minutes, and I have to be there ten minutes early since it's a new doctor for me."

"I'll pick you up at ten."

"All right."

"And I'll get your gutters taken care of."

This time she just nodded.

"We're grilling out tonight. Why don't you come eat with us?" His eyes were burning into hers.

She didn't understand what he wanted, or what he was trying to say to her without words. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. In fact, you look exhausted. Why don't you go shower, get something to drink, and come lay down on a lounge next to Mia… have a pregnant girl chat session or something." When he saw she was still uncertain he took her trembling hand in his. "We're gonna have to be friends here at the very least, Regan."

"Okay. I'll be right back." She went inside not looking back.

Dom felt a hand on his arm, rubbing up and down. "That was really good, Dom. Really good."

"Have I lost her?"

"No… but you're going to have to go slowly. If you try to rush it she'll think it's about the baby."

**

Regan had to admit, lying on the lounge chair did feel good. It wasn't too hot outside, and it was sort of soothing listening to Lily babbling in the sandbox. Occasionally, Mia would question something she read in the magazine she was reading, and Regan would give her the skinny. She barely noticed as Cass, Sonja, Cara and Letty joined the circle. The discussion took on a more risqué tone as Cara began adding in her stories as well. The men were busy talking about cars and grilling.

"I can't believe you used to date Zack Kind," Sonja was looking at Regan with interest.

She snorted. "Please we dated for four months and he got pissed because I wouldn't sleep with him."

"You have to tell them how you found him and Keisha in flagrante, and how you told him off," Cara was smug.

"We went to this stupid club, I hadn't even wanted to go out but everyone was getting upset with me for bailing constantly. So, here we are in this loud bar, Harry's, and it's so loud you can't even think. We were supposed to meet Zack and some of his friends there, but we were running late. Devon, the bartender, tossed us some Cosmo's, and I decided I would stop by the little girl's room before looking for Zack. I was ready to break up any way. The magazines had us practically engaged and to the altar, and while his dad would have loved that, I would not."

"Come on, Reggie, don't get off topic," Cara nudged. "We enter the bathroom…"

"So, we enter the bathroom and right away you can hear that there's something going on in one of the stalls. There's almost always something going on in one of the stalls of most bathrooms of most of the bars in New York. It wasn't going to stop me from freshening my lip gloss. I noticed the shoes, and they looked familiar, but then I noticed the belt buckle, lying on the floor with the man's pants. I recognized it because it had been a birthday gift from me to him."

"So Regan opens the stall door as he's telling Keisha how awesome she is and Regan says, Well, hello Zack, Keisha, How nice to see you both, or something like that. He dropped that blonde bitch on the toilet, and started hustling to put his pants on. She starts putting on lip gloss and making sure it's perfect."

Regan shrugged, "It's always good to look nice Cara."

"Then she tells them not to stop on her account, she was just there to powder her nose. There was some more trash talk between her and Keisha, and Zack tried to beg for her to take him back, but luckily that was a no go."

"As if I'd let Zack Kind put his hands anywhere on any portion of my unclothed body. The thought makes me nauseous. And then there was that horrid song he put out saying I was his inspiration," she shuddered.

"I remember that. We were at the beach that day!" Mia burst in.

"Oh yeah!" Cara laughed. "Nick, his Dad, has been putting Zack through the ringer, telling Zack he won't give him another dime until Zack makes it up to Regan, you know the whole doing a ho in the bathroom of a bar. And he wants Zack to get Regan back."

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen," Regan muttered.

"I'm just saying."

"Wait a minute, didn't you say that your ex had gotten another girl pregnant?" Mia asked, fascinated.

"Keisha, bathroom stall ho," Regan nodded. "He's being a douche, saying it's not his and he's going to make her take a test."

"Well to be fair, she did sort of get around," Cara pointed out.

"I just hope it's all cleared up by the time Stacy and Max get married, because I do not want to deal with any of that."

"Move forward some, Regan, I want to put some more sunblock on your back," Cass instructed, and she began rubbing the cool lotion in. "So who're Stacy and Max?"

"Are we asking too many questions?" Sonja asked. "Do you want us to shut up?"

Regan laughed. "I don't mind telling stories; I just don't want to be judged because of my parents or my wealth. Stacy is a girl I went to school with from the beginning all the way through college at Brown. Her father was a Quarterback in the NFL at one time and now he's co-owner in several restaurants and resorts. Max is Max Sandusky, extreme sports nut," Regan rolled her eyes. "He also goes by The Great Big Max Attack. I think he's fallen off his dirt bike and hit his head a few too many times. They are really good together though."

Brian called Dinner and everyone got up and moved around the table to say Grace and start eating. It was a surreal feeling for Regan. It almost felt like when she'd first moved into the house next door, before she and Dom had started their relationship… only this time she was pregnant with his child. Lily wanted to sit in her lap the entire time, and Regan let her. She really had missed the little girl.

"So, when is this wedding?" Mia asked.

"October fourteenth," Regan's brow furrowed as she tried to remember.

"Oh, so only a few weeks away," Letty seemed surprised.

Cara jumped in. "Yep, we'll fly out on the tenth, and come back on the sixteenth. We do have a bachelorette party to attend. There will probably be pictures in the papers." Cara's eyes widened, "I didn't even think, Reggie, are you going to be able to fly with me?"

Regan waved her off. "Of course I will. I just can't fly in the third trimester."

Lily began looking between Regan and Cara. "Rey An go?" her voice was tiny and her bottom lip quivered. "Rey An no go, no go," she kept repeating as she started to cling to Regan's neck. "Da, Rey An no go no go no go."

Tears began to spill down Regan's cheeks. This is what they'd been talking about, how Lily had been hurt when she'd left. She'd hurt the little girl without meaning to. The toddler just kept repeating those words, and the others just kept trying to extricate the toddler. Finally, Regan had enough. "Stop, all of you," she told them. She stood, wrapping her arms around Lily tightly and moved into the living room of Dom's house. "Lily, Lily, Liliana, shhhhhh, I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

Lily looked into Regan's face. "No go?"

"No go."

Lily smiled through her tears and Regan let her down to go run outside. Regan sank down onto the couch and began sobbing.


	13. Chapter 13

She wrapped her arms around her stomach in pain as she continued to sob. She hadn't meant it; hadn't meant to hurt the beautiful little girl that she loved so much. She'd left knowing that Dom didn't want her in his life anymore. She'd left because she couldn't bear living next door to him when she loved him so much and he was so disgusted by her… by who she was, and how much money she had. The worst thing was that nothing had really changed. Sure, she was pregnant, but she was still Regan Annika Wells. She was still wealthy, and her life was still tied to so many of the people he despised.

"Regan?"

She didn't jump when she heard his voice. She should have known someone would have come to check on her.

A large, warm arm wrapped itself around her shoulders and now she did stiffen. "Why are you crying?"

She tried to wipe her eyes, not that it helped much. More tears continued to roll down her face.

"Talk to me… please, please talk to me."

"I never meant to hurt her. I never meant to cause Lily any pain, but I did."

"I know you didn't," he whispered. "I do. I do know that, Regan. I walked out and didn't finish listening. I cut myself off from you and you left because you thought I hated you. I know why you left. I was so angry. Angry you weren't who I thought you were. And then I was angry you left." Dom brushed Regan's hair out of her face. "Hell, then I was pissed to see you again… it's not your fault Lily is going through this. It's not your fault and you can't stop living you life to make sure my three year old doesn't cry."

Regan felt so secure in his arms. It had been so long since he'd held her. "You…you… could come with me to the wedding, you and Lily," Regan whispered.

Dom tensed slightly. "We wouldn't fit in a place like that."

"You could fit anywhere you wanted to. You're that kind of guy. We could go shopping for you both. You could meet my family… some of my friends."

Now they were looking into each other's eyes, and Dom wasn't sure if he could speak. "Lily and I would love to go with you to the wedding."

"What are we doing right now?" she whispered.

"I think we're doing what we should have done that day in your house when you told me who you really were. We're just doing it the right way this time. I don't care if you're name isn't Annie. And I don't care how much money you have as long as you don't care about mine."

"Your financial status has never crossed my mind." Regan pulled back just a little. "What are we doing here?"

"We're doing this the right way. We can't just erase the bad, but we can make it better, God, do I want to make it better. I've missed you every minute you've been gone. I was wrong for how I treated you. Please forgive me. Can you, will you forgive me?"

More tears were streaming down her face now. "Of course I forgive you! I was the one lying, not you."

Finally, Dom moved closer, and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss began slowly, just two sets of lips mapping each other and relearning spots that hadn't been tasted in weeks. Slowly, it began to develop into something more as Dom's mouth opened, his tongue rubbing lightly on her lips until they opened and his tongue could touch hers. As the kiss deepened, Regan tightened her arms around Dom's waist, her hands going beneath the t-shirt, his own hands clutching at her top, one hand dropping to caress her denim covered bottom.

They pulled apart and looked at each other. Dom smiled down at her softly, again brushing hair away from her face. "You are so beautiful."

"You're the one who takes my breath away," she told him and blushed.

"We're gonna be okay, Regan. We will. We're gonna work on this and we're gonna be okay."

"Did you date while I was gone?" she asked.

"No. I submersed myself in work. I didn't have time to date between working and racing."

"What about the girls from the races… I need to know, Dom… and I need to know the truth, did you sleep with anyone, sexually, while I was gone?"

He was quiet for several moments and she was sure she knew what that was going to mean. "No. I thought about it. I even brought a woman home. Kissed her. Took her upstairs, and as soon as she took her shirt off I couldn't do it. I told her to get dressed and get gone. She called me a dickhead, and I figured she was right for a lot of reasons so I didn't challenge her. And I didn't try again. She wasn't you. None of them were. I would just come home and talk to Valeria."

"Liliana's mother?"

Dom nodded. "I would pick up her picture and just ask what the fuck I was supposed to do. I lost her, and then I lost you. I wasn't sure I could handle that."

"You don't have to, I'm right here."

He gave her a wry smile. "Funny story? If you hadn't come back when you did? I was making arrangements with the other guys to watch the garage so I could come get you."

Regan was almost speechless. "You were going to come get me?" Now, more tears began to fall.

"I don't think I can live without you Regan," he told her honestly.

Regan was shocked. She never thought she'd hear words like that out of his mouth.

"Did you see anyone; date anyone while you were at home?"

"I didn't sleep with anyone, I guess I probably didn't have to tell you that considering I was a virgin when you and I… well, got together. But I did go out a few times. Once was with a friend of my brother's, another was my mother's tennis partner's nephew. Neither were more than a first date, although Jack, my brother's friend wanted to go out again. If I hadn't been pregnant, and if you never showed up I might have gone out with Jack again, but that's because he's friends with Jacob and he was a nice enough guy… but he wasn't you."

"I'm so grateful you came back, Regan."

"I'm glad I came back too, Dom. This baby, needs its Daddy just as much as it needs its mommy."

Dom rearranged himself slightly to where he was more comfortable on the sofa, and pulled Regan in to where he could wrap both arms around her as she leaned into him. "When Val and I found out we were having Liliana, we were thrilled of course, but we were also terrified. She'd lived a really rough life before coming to us, had in fact, just gone through hell, and found out about the pregnancy while recovering from her stepfather kidnapping her."

"Oh my God," Regan whispered.

"Yeah, it was Hell on Earth. But she was strong. A lot like you… no, don't interrupt," he stopped her when he heard her making a noise of disagreement. "And we were together every moment of her pregnancy. Lily was only a few months old when Val was shot and killed." Dom could feel the teardrops falling on his arms. "I want to be there for every moment Regan. I want to go to every doctor appointment. In a few months I want to figure out how to decorate the nursery. You could have just stayed where you were and never told me… Thank you, thank you for coming back and letting me be a part of this, Regan."

"I love you, Dom. I couldn't do it any other way."

"I love you too."


	14. Chapter 14

It had been a week since Dom had cleaned out her gutters, the exterior of the house had been painted and Dom and Regan were little by little working towards getting to know each other. Currently they were outside enjoying the fresh air. Dom had taken the day off from work and they'd spent a few hours working on a small vegetable garden that Regan had really, really wanted. Dom had tilled the area for her, and she had crouched down with Lily, full of patience to show the toddler how to plant the little seeds in rows. Besides his family, Regan and Cara were the first women ever to show such patience with his little girl.

One day, he thought, one day he, Lily, Regan, and the new baby would be a family; one family together. Dom felt something in his heart expand and thrill at the thought of that. In that moment Dom knew that it's what he wanted. He had wanted it before; had almost had it, but had lost it in the most painful way. He hadn't thought he'd get another chance; hadn't thought he'd find someone who could inspire the same feelings that Valeria had. And while he would always love his Val, Dom knew that he was growing to love Regan as well. He couldn't help but smile as he thought about how very different she was from him. He'd grown up in a world just above poverty, with hoodlums and people who did what needed to be done to survive.

And Regan, beautiful Regan, she came from a privileged world where she had anything and everything she could possibly need. He remembered watching that episode of Entertainment Tonight and he remembered his remarks about the socialites, but Regan didn't understand that she wasn't like those spoiled girls. Perhaps they were raised the same, but she had a different set of values.

He came back to himself hearing Lily giggling as she helped Regan water the new seeds with a big purple watering can. Lil had always been a happy child. But when Regan had come she'd just… blossomed. When Regan had left for that short time she was gone, Lily had been inconsolable. When Dom had decided he was going after her he had begun teaching Lily Regan's real name.

The three of them as well as Cara and Vince were heading to Manhattan in a week, giving them a week before the wedding. Regan had talked to her two friends who were getting married and now Mia and Brian were going along with them. Cara and Regan were extremely excited about taking everyone shopping. Regan had promised they would take the men shopping first so they would be done. However, Dom had no intention of leaving Regan and Mia, both pregnant, to keep shopping and carrying things as well as watching over Lily without his help. No, he really wasn't worried about shopping. What he was worried about was meeting Regan's parents. Her Uncle Theodore really liked Vince and Dom, and adored Lily as well as the rest of Vince's extended family. He'd visited several times while handling the case of black market baby sales.

"You know what we'll have to do, Lily?" Regan asked the little girl.

"Wa Rey An?" Lily asked her little face scrunched up in question.

"We'll have to ask Aunt Letty to water our garden while we're gone."

"Sinks Leddy says yup," Lily assured her.

Regan giggled and leaned in closely to give the little girl a kiss. "I think so too."

The trio heard a honking in the driveway and walked together to see who it was. The car was huge, a Cadillac Escalade, a rental, and before either Regan or Dom could talk, the doors were opening and four men were exiting the car while laughing hysterically.

Regan began smiling and laughing immediately. "Jacob!" she cried and ran to the man driving the Escalade. He was about six foot, tennis players build, dark brown hair with red-gold highlights, and the same eyes as his sister.

The man caught her into a hug, and lifted her off of the ground. "How are you doing, Midget?"

"Oh Jake! I'm doing so well! I'm so surprised to see you! Happy, but surprised. What are you all doing here?"

The man shrugged. "I talked to Ma and I wanted to come see you for myself."

The month she'd been at home Jacob had been off taking summer classes. She'd left by the time he was coming back so they'd just missed each other. "Thank you, you're a great big brother, but I really am doing well. Look at me."

He took a step back and looked at her from a critical eye. She'd gained weight back from where she'd been losing it. Her hair was cut to her shoulders, and was shiny and pulled back under a bandana. She was smiling brightly at him. "You're beautiful and you know it." His eyes flickered past her to take in the picture of Dom holding Lily. Dom made an impressive sight. He was wearing worn, ripped jeans, an old wife beater, and sunglasses. Lily was dressed in a very cute sun suit in green and white that said 'I'm the Bomb' across the front.

Regan began tugging her brother with her. "Jacob, this is Dominic Toretto and his daughter Liliana. Dom, Lily, this is my brother, Jacob."

Dom reached out his hand and the two shook, still trying to get the measure of each other. Lily scrutinized the man for a moment before holding her small hand out.

"I is Lily, yous is yacods," she told him imperiously.

Jacob started laughing. "Yes Ma'am."

The other three men who'd come up with him were walking up, two of them, twins, hugging Regan. Jacob took a moment to introduce them. "These are our cousins Shawn and Shane, our Dad's sister, Destiny's kids. And that yahoo is Matt. He one's of my best buds. We grew up together."

Matt moved forward towards Regan. "Hey Reg, no hug for me?"

"Nope not a one!" She smiled at him, "But it's nice to see you Matt. How's Tia?"

"We broke up."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. She's a nice girl."

He shrugged. "She had weird expectations. Like she expected me to start looking for jobs now that I'm out of college."

"Oh! You finally graduated?"

"Yeah, the 'rents threatened to cut me off financially. Told me I had to graduate or they were done. So I got my degree in Phys Ed." He shrugged again.

"Isn't she in real estate?"

"Oh yeah, real good at it too. She just kept talking about getting serious. Living together, eventually getting married, maybe even kids. She's just too serious for me."

Jacob rolled his eyes, "Dude, you're 28, it's about time you start looking into serious."

"So, you don't have a problem if I call Tia then, do ya?" Shane asked.

"No, go ahead."

"So I was hoping we could stay at your place, but if it's too much trouble we could go to a hotel," Jacob offered.

"Please, I have no problem with you guys bunking here with me. We're even cooking out tonight so you'll get to meet everyone!"

"Maybe you can show me where I especially get to bunk down, Reg," Matt flirted.

Dom frowned and looked at Regan. "Why don't you let those guys have your place and you can bunk at my place?"

"Really?" she looked up at him as if to gauge his emotions.

"You can bunk in my room or the spare room, your choice completely," he murmured.

"Thank you. I think I'll take you up on that. Matt can be a little grabby sometimes."

"Oh yeah?"

**

That night Dom and Vince were manning the grill when the four men exited Regan's house and made their way over. Regan took a few minutes to introduce everyone, and then she went back to what she was doing with Mia, Letty and Cass. They were in the process of building a seven layer dip to put out on the deck for everyone to enjoy. Cara was fixing drinks and Sonja as finishing the dessert. Out in back Brian, Trev and Leon were talking to Cam about coming up with some new designs for show books at the shop. Cam was a good artist and made extra money creating new designs for the groups racing friends' vehicles. Jacob, Shane and Shawn began talking to Dom and Vince, and Matt headed over to the guys talking about cars.

Soon everyone was seated and eating, Lily in her booster seat between Dom and Regan. Valeria who was learning to speak and using baby sign was keeping everyone busy asking for more, and showing off her communication skills.

"So, next weekend we're headed up to get ready for Stacy and Max's wedding," Regan told her brother.

"Cool. Who all is coming?"

"Dom, Lily and I. Cara and Vince, and Brian and Mia."

"That sounds like fun. It also sounds like you have shopping planned."

Lily squealed, "Chopping!!!" and she clapped her hands.

Dom looked at Regan, "You taught her that."

Regan just shrugged. "So while I'm home do I get to meet her?"

Jacob blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about." Shane and Shawn were snickering.

"Are you embarrassed of me? Because I'm pregnant?"

"Oh shut up, you know that's not true. Fine, we'll all go to dinner. You're getting into town early enough."

Regan smiled. Her big brother was in love. Not only was her big brother in love, but she got to sleep in Dom's house that night.


End file.
